Canada have capped former Nigeria U23 forward Daniel Joshua after he filed a one-time switch request to FIFA, ending any chance of the 24-year-old turning out for the Super Eagles.
Joshua, who featured for the Olympic Eagles in the 2019 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations, has spent the last three seasons banging in goals for Vancouver Whitecaps, hitting double figures in each campaign. The Lagos-born striker's breakthrough in Major League Soccer convinced Canada coach Jesse Marsch to fast-track the paperwork ahead of the 2026 World Cup on home soil.
Nigeria's loss is Canada's gain. With Victor Osimhen and Victor Boniface currently leading the Super Eagles' attack, Joshua saw the pathway to senior international football blocked and opted to pledge his future to the Maple Leafs instead. He trained with his new Canadian team-mates for the first time on Tuesday and could make his debut in next week's friendly against Netherlands.
Joshua's switch continues Canada's recruitment of players with Nigerian roots, joining the likes of Sam Adekugbe and Iké Ugbo. The 24-year-old's physical style and eye for goal are expected to add bite to a Canadian front line that struggled for goals at the last Gold Cup.
Nigeria just lost a proven goal-scorer to a country that didn't exist in FIFA rankings when Joshua was born, and the NFF will regret sleeping on a striker who has outscored every Canadian forward in MLS since 2021. The blunt truth is that Osimhen and Boniface's brilliance created a logjam, but the federation never bothered to cap-tie Joshua even in a cameo friendly, a complacency that has now bitten the Super Eagles.
Tactically, Canada gain a mobile No. 9 who presses like Marsch's Salzburg forwards and finishes with either foot; paired with Jonathan David, they can finally play a two-striker system that fits their aggressive 4-4-2. For Nigeria, the cupboard beyond the Victor duo looks bare: Moffi and Dessers have six goals between them in 25 caps, so any injury to Osimhen or Boniface forces Peseiro into a false-nine experiment he clearly dislikes.
This one stings because Joshua is Lagos-bred, speaks Yoruba fluently and once tweeted "up Naija" after scoring against Toronto. Nigerian fans will watch him line up against European heavyweights next week knowing he could have been wearing green, not red.
Watch the June qualifiers: if Osimhen's hamstring flares up in the humid Uyo heat, the chant "we want Joshua" will echo even though he is no longer an option.
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