Chrisantus Uche made his competitive debut for the Super Eagles in the recent 1-1 draw against South Africa during the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
The midfielder came on in the 78th minute, marking his first senior appearance for Nigeria.
Uche shared what it meant to represent the national team during a post match interview after the game against Sunderland with Crystal Palace TV:
“It was nice. It’s been a long time that I’ve been waiting for the call. Surprisingly, I went with the national team and we did great.
“But in the last game, we needed to win we got a draw. We have a game next month, and we have to face it.”
The 22-year-old also opened up about his debut for Crystal Palace, revealing how welcome he felt at the club and pointing out Jean-Philippe Mateta as someone who has helped him settle in.
“Meeting the Crystal Palace players for the first time they’ve been so good to me. Mateta is very funny, but they’re all good players. I believe that if we work together, we’ll make something good.”
Uche joined Palace from Getafe in a £17 million transfer and made his debut in the 84th minute against Sunderland.
Despite the short time on the pitch, he impressed registering as many shots on target as the team had managed during the minutes before he was subbed in.
