Odion Ighalo

Club

As of match played 26 May 2025

International

As of match played 29 March 2022

Scores and results list Nigeria's goal tally first.

On 24 March 2015, after a series of strong performances for Watford, newly appointed Nigeria interim coach Daniel Amokachi selected Ighalo for the first time, and the latter stated, "I feel good because it is my dream to play for my country". He won his first cap two days later, starting in a 0–1 friendly home loss to Uganda. Ighalo was initially named as one of three overage players in Nigeria's squad for the 2016 Olympic tournament, but he eventually did not make the trip to Brazil. In June 2018, he was named in the 23-man squad for the upcoming edition of the FIFA World Cup in Russia, making his first appearance in the competition by playing 73 minutes in the 0–2 group stage defeat against Croatia; in October, he revealed that his family had received death threats after he failed to score in the tournament. Ighalo scored seven goals in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification campaign, the most by any player, to help Nigeria qualify for the finals in Egypt later that year. He was included in Gernot Rohr's squad, taking part in all the matches and finding the net against Burundi in the group phase (1–0), Cameroon in the round of 16 (3–2 win), Algeria in the semi-finals (1–2 loss) and Tunisia in the third-place playoff (1–0). At the end of the competition, he announced his retirement from the international scene. Ighalo was recalled to the Nigeria team for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations but his club, Al Shabab, blocked him from taking part.

Early career

Born and raised in Ajegunle, Lagos, Ighalo played in his country with Prime and Julius Berger, where he was discovered by FIFA agent Marcelo Houseman who recommended him to Atta Aneke, being subsequently taken on trial by Norway's Lyn. He made his Tippeligaen debut on 16 September 2007 at the age of just 18, scoring in a 2–0 home win against Viking. He scored six goals in 13 matches in his second year to help his team to the seventh position, and subsequently arose interest from other clubs in the country, with Brann reporting Lyn to the Norwegian Football Federation for unfairness in the negotiation process.

Udinese and Granada

On 30 July 2008, Ighalo signed for Udinese in Italy, moving alongside teammate Jo Inge Berget and agreeing to a five-year contract. He appeared rarely in Serie A in his debut season, scoring against Cagliari in a 6–2 home routing. Four of his five league appearances came as a late substitute. Ighalo was loaned to Granada in the summer of 2009, as part of the partnership agreement between Udinese and the Spaniards. He scored 17 times in his first year (playoffs included) and five in the second, as both seasons ended in promotion; this was interspersed with a brief loan stint back in Italy, with Cesena. Ighalo continued playing with Granada in the following years, still owned by the Udine club. He played his first La Liga match on 27 August 2011, starting and playing the full 90 minutes in a 0–1 home loss to Real…

Ighalo is a devout Christian, who also often dedicates part of his wages for Nigerian charitable organisations to help impoverished children, schools and widows below the poverty line. He is a lifelong Manchester United supporter. Ighalo has three children, two sons and one daughter. On 22 June 2021, He was unveiled as an Ambassador of the National Principal's Cup in Abuja by the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare. In 2016, Ighalo was accused, by The Public Prosecutor's Office of Granada, Spain, along with 94 other people (including footballer Diego Buonanotte), of participating in a corruption scheme involving the standard written driving test. The scheme involved manipulating the tests to ensure that those involved passed the written exam.