Super Eagles Stars Shine in Europe: Orban and Iheanacho Keep Scoring

It was a great weekend for many Super Eagles players in Europe. Gift Orban and Kelechi Iheanacho were the stars in Turkey. Other Nigerian players also made key contributions in England, Spain, Italy, Scotland, and France.

Orban stood out after scoring a brilliant hat-trick for Amedspor. They won 5-0 against İstanbul Başakşehir. Iheanacho kept his scoring streak going for Bursaspor.

Orban’s Hat-Trick Equals Osimhen

Gift Orban had an amazing performance, scoring three goals as Amedspor beat Başakşehir 5-0 in the Turkish Süper Lig.

Amedspor took the lead thanks to an own goal by Emin Bayram just before halftime. After the break, Orban scored in the 52nd, 56th, and 75th minutes to complete his hat-trick.

Mbaye Diagne added a fifth goal late in the game, securing a strong win for Amedspor. Orban’s hat-trick brought his league total to six goals, placing him level with Victor Osimhen at the top of the Turkish Süper Lig scoring list.

Orban has scored in three straight league matches. He netted a goal against Trabzonspor and added two against Kasımpaşa before Sunday’s hat-trick.

The 24-year-old was named Man of the Match after taking six shots and having the most touches in the opponent's penalty area. Notably, this was Orban’s second hat-trick against Başakşehir. He scored three times against them while playing for Gent in the UEFA Europa Conference League in 2023. That match saw him set a record for the fastest hat-trick in men’s UEFA club competition history.

Iheanacho Keeps Scoring

Kelechi Iheanacho also kept up his great form in Turkey. He scored again for Bursaspor in their exciting 2-2 draw with Esenler Erokspor on Sunday.

Iheanacho opened the scoring in the 16th minute. This brought his total to nine goals in just seven league matches.

He has also provided two assists, making for 11 goal involvements in the first seven rounds of the Turkish 1. Lig. The 29-year-old has scored against Bodrum FK, Iğdır FK, Fatih Karagümrük, Kayserispor, İstanbulspor, Manisa FK, and Esenler Erokspor. He has scored in every league game he has played this season.