Playing for Nigeria felt like playing for Real Madrid – Arokodare

Super Eagles striker Tolu Arokodare opens up on his Nigeria debut joy, AFCON omission, Wolves’ relegation pressure and racist abuse he has faced, while offering solidarity with injured teammate Victor Boniface in this interview with JEJE SPORTS monitored by OLAMIDE ABE

As a striker, you are judged by goals. But what is one win in your personal life that is off camera?

The comfort of my parents and my family. I would say the success of my career has, I mean, we were comfortable, but it has obviously pushed us and taken us to a higher level of comfort, and hopefully, we keep going higher. That is what I would say.

Your family was there at the match against Chelsea. Beyond everything being said on the internet, if your family is okay, is Tolu fine?

Of course. First of all, I do not think anybody should care what people say on the internet. It is just people’s opinions. How you feel and your happiness within yourself and at home, are what matter. So, for me, my family is fine, I am fine, and I am happy.

Recently, we saw some racist posts directed at you, and how the world stands behind you. How did you navigate that mentally?

I try not to think about or focus on what people say around me. I think about myself. I think about how I want to play, how I want to perform, and how I can help myself and help the team. I focus on that and cannot really listen to people who are probably gambling on the game or who have no real idea how the sport is played. They just want to see goals, goals, goals, or they just want to see the ball go into the back of the net. Sometimes it is not really all about goals, goals, goals. So, I just try to focus on what I have to do in the game, how to help the team, what the coaches have told me to do and how to play, and I go out and try to do it well.

Wolves are currently 20th and relegated from the EPL. What is your headspace when there is another match? Do you feel discouraged already, or are you taking it one match at a time? We saw your equaliser against Brentford, so is it a case of taking it one match at a time?

Just as you said, and I think I have been saying it before, we try to go into every game aiming to win it. We do not care if it is the top six or the bottom six. We do not care. We do not care if we are still in the fight to avoid relegation, if we are already relegated, or if we are chasing the title. We take every game the same, if not with even more determination, trying to win and get three points. If we cannot get three points, then at least we get a point.

We have not really done that consistently throughout the season, but we are doing it now and we will keep fighting until the end.

The first time you got your call-up and the first time you were singing the national anthem wearing the Nigerian jersey, what was the feeling like?

I was very happy, the first time I got the call-up, when I saw it, I texted my brother and I called my managers in Nigeria. I was really delighted because getting called up to play for the Super Eagles is such a big honour, and I was genuinely happy.

Then the first time singing to the national anthem, the new one, I had goosebumps all over. I could not wait. I was not even really thinking that I would play, I was just telling myself to enjoy the moment, enjoy the atmosphere, the spirit and the intensity of the game from outside. If I got called upon to play, I hoped I would be ready, and I ended up coming into the game. We won, and it was amazing.

It felt like I was playing for Real Madrid, like seeing Ronaldo for the first time and all these players for the first time. It all felt brand new to me because throughout my whole professional career before that, I had only been playing club football, so that experience was very special.

What was the feeling like when you did not get called up for the AFCON?

I am human, so I was sad, but I did not beat myself up about it. I was not devastated. I was not thinking I desperately should have gone because, like I said, I was not having the best of seasons. When I look at my last season and compare it to now, it is different, and I expected it. I had to be very honest and truthful with myself.

All I can say now is that every player who went there deserved it. We finished third, and I could not be more proud of them. I obviously wanted to go there to win. We did not, but I am very proud of them. There were other countries that went there and did not win anything, so for us to come away with something is an achievement. No matter how you try to look at it, it is still part of history. We finished third at the 2025 AFCON.

Still on AFCON, is there something you think we should have done differently against Morocco?

I do not think there is anything we could have done differently. I think we did our best. Morocco, first of all, had the advantage, it was almost like playing at home for them. They had the fans behind them, they played very good football and they have very good players. We also have quality, but in that game they had more possession and were very dominant, and it went to penalties.

I think everything went according to plan. We did not lose the game in normal time, we lost in what is essentially a game of chance, so it could have gone either way. I think we would rather take a defeat like that than losing within 90 minutes. So I do not think there is anything we could have done differently or better.

No one expected it to be an easy game. It may have looked easy for Morocco to people watching from outside, but if it was that easy, they would have scored goals. It was not easy at all. It was difficult for both teams, and I think our players, my friends, my teammates and our coaches should be proud of the performance in the last two AFCONs. I also think Nigerians should be very proud of the national team players.

You said penalties are a game of chance. When it went to penalties again in the third-place match against Egypt, after losses to DR Congo and Morocco, it could have been a third straight defeat on penalties. What was the feeling like for you most importantly after our first kick was missed?

I would not say I was completely calm, but there was still a bit of calmness in me because it is penalties. Just because you miss the first one does not mean the other team will not miss theirs. I just tried to wait for each penalty to be taken and then see the outcome. I was a bit nervous because, like you said, if we had lost that shootout, it would have been a third one, and the players, as much as they are professionals, are also human beings. The pressure gets to them, and it is not easy.