Finidi George, Eguaveon Hails Europa League Hero Ademola Lookman

Super Eagles head coach, Finidi George, and the Technical Director of the Nigeria Football Federation, Austin Eguaveon, are excited over the performance of Ademola Lookman in the Europa final.

On Wednesday, May 22, Ademola Lookman had the opportunity to start his first Europa League final between his team, Atalanta, and Bundesliga champions, Bayer Leverkusen who were enjoying a 51-game unbeaten run then.

Lookman scored three goals in the game as he became the first player in history to record a hat-trick in a UEFA club competition final.

The hat-trick of the 26-year-old forward earned Atalanta their first Europa League title and also ended the unprecedented unbeaten run of Bayer Leverkusen who featured Nigerian duo Victor Boniface and Nathan Tella.

“Watching Ademola Lookman, Nathan Tella and Victor Boniface in the Europa League final was a thing of joy and national pride. Well done, guys. And what a performance that was from Lookman!,” Finidi wrote on X.

In his reaction, Eguaveon, who had served as the Super Eagles head coach a couple of times, recalled how he gave Ademola Lookman his international debut as he hailed the player’s performance in the Europa League final.

“March 25 2022. The day I gave Ademola Lookman his national debut for Nigeria, 1000 kilometres away in Kumasi. Fast forward two years, he’s starred at the AFCON in Ivory Coast and become the first player to score a hat-trick in a UEFA club final,” Eguavoen wrote on X.

Note that Ademola Lookman, who is expected to play a prominent role in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers against South Africa on June 7 and against Benin Republic on June 10, has made 21 appearances for the Super Eagles scoring 6 goals so far.

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