7 Nigerian Players Who Have Won English FA Cup Title

London rivals, Arsenal and Chelsea, are set to clash in the 139th English FA Cup final at the iconic Wembley Stadium on Saturday, August 1. Though there will be no Nigerian player in the mix, but it’s a competition which history Nigerian fans can review with some nostalgia given the past exploits of their compatriots. Complete Sports here goes down the memory lane to recall Nigerian players who have featured in and won the prestigious competition with their respective clubs.

Daniel AMOKACHI (Everton: 1995)

Amokachi was the first Nigerlan
international ever to play in the English FA Cup final and that saw the retired forward coming on as a 69th-minute substitute for the Toffees in their 1-0 win over Manchester lnitedi VEC over Manchester United in the 1995 final at Wembley.

Celestine BABAYARO (Chelsea: 2000)

Nigerian defender, Babayaro emerged as an English FA Cup winner in the year 2000. The left full-back saw full action as Roberto Di Matteo scored the Blues winner against Aston Villa.

Also Read: Chelsea Hope To End Arsenal’s Europa League Ambitions Ahead FA Cup Final Clash

Kanu NWANKWO (Arsenal: 2002, 2003 and Portsmouth, 2008)

Kanu winner was of a the three-timne FA Cup with Arsenal and Portsmouth.

The retired attacker won a medal with Arsenal in 2002, although, he did not play in the final. He played as an 81st minute substitute when the Gunners defeated Southampton 1-0 in the
final at the Millenium Stadium, Cardiff in 2003.

In 2008, he got the name King Kanu as he scored the winning goal and Ureamc played for 87 minutes as Portsmouth beat Cardiff to win the FA Cup. He was named the Man of
the Match in that final.

John UTAKA (Portsmouth: 2008)

Utaka was in the winning Portsmouth team of 2008 alongside Kanu as they both won the FA Cup Utaka played for 69 minutes before coming off.

Mikel OBI (Chelsea: 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2012)

Mikel won three FA Cup titles during his time at Chelsea. The midfielder was on the pitch for the full 120 minutes as Chelsea beat Manchester United 1-0 in extra-time time to lift the FA Cup in 2007.

Alex lWOBI (Arsenal, 2017)

Iwobi won the first trophy ever of his professional football career when Arsenal beat Chelsea 2-1 to win the 2017 FA Cup title.

Victor MOSES (Chelsea, 2018)

Moses Chelsea won in it 2018 with to become the seventh Nigerian player in history to win the FA Cup. Chelsea beat Manchester United 1-0 courtesy of a 22nd minute penalty by Eden Hazard.

By Oluyemi Ogunseyin