Super Eagles defender, Jamilu Collins has expressed his happiness to don the colours of Nigeria, saying it is a dream come true for him.
The Paderborn full-back made his international debut for the Super Eagles in a friendly against Liberia in September 2018 and has since become a regular player for the West Africans.
The 25-year-old player, who has 11 caps for the three-time African champions, was part of Gernot Rohr’s squad that finished third at the Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.
“It was a dream come true, representing my country. Ever since I was a child I always prayed for one day to represent my country,” Collins told WFI.
“My time so far in the national team has been a lot of great moments and I am looking forward to achieving great things for my country.”
Collins joined Paderborn in the summer of 2017 after arriving as a free agent and played a pivotal role as they gained promotion to Bundesliga last season.
The former Sibenik man admitted he has enjoyed every bit of his time at Benteler-Arena and applauded his manager, Steffen Baumgart for contributing to his development.
“My time so far in Paderborn has been amazing. Paderborn is a club full of great people. They are loving and caring people who always support their players on the pitch and also outside,” he continued.
“I would say a lot of them played an important role in my career to this level where I am today.
“But to specify, Steffen Baumgart and his assistant coaches have helped me develop so much, and also Markus Krösche, our former manager. I am really thankful to them.”
The full-back also named Manchester City duo of Riyad Mahrez and Gabriel Jesus as well as Bayern Munich’s Serge Gnabry as his toughest opponents.
“I have played with a lot of great players both club and national team side. So it is hard for me to just name a few,” he added.
“For me, I would say that Serge Gnabry, Gabriel Jesus and Riyad Mahrez are really good ones.”
Collins was part of the 24-man Super Eagles squad scheduled to face Sierra Leone on March 27 in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers before the game was postponed due to coronavirus fears.
Packaged by Lanre Olabisi
