Crystal Palace’s Olise shuns Nigeria, picks France
Michael Akpovie Olise, who plays professional football for Crystal Palace, has picked France as his country of choice for the upcoming European Championship qualifiers.
Olise is born to a Nigerian father and a French-Algerian mother. He is eligible to represent France, Algeria, England or Nigeria internationally.
Speaking about Olise, England U21 coach, Lee Carsley said “You cannot force anyone and I try to stay away from capping someone just to stop them doing something else. It is not something I would want to do.
“We have a responsibility to not just cap a player and then restrict their future. We always want to provide a real connection, so they enjoy representing England.
“We made Crystal Palace and the player aware that we were interested and he has chosen to go to France and that is his prerogative.”
The young chap was a target for the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), with the former technical adviser, Gernot Rohr naming him in an expanded squad for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers.
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