GLASGOW (CONVERSEER) – Glasgow Rangers forward Cyriel Dessers has expressed his delight after marking his return to the Nigeria national team with a goal, following nearly two years away from international duty.
The 30-year-old striker found the net in Nigeria’s 2-1 win over West African rivals Ghana in the semi-final of the 2025 Unity Cup. The match, held at Brentford’s GTECH Stadium in London, saw Dessers open the scoring in the 14th minute after latching onto a cross from Sadiq Ismail.
Positive Energy and Support
Speaking to SportsBoom.com, Dessers shared his excitement over his performance and the support from Nigerian fans.
“I knew before the game that we needed a strong performance, especially when we arrived at the stadium and saw how many Nigerian fans were there. During the game, the atmosphere was full of positive energy, and it felt really good to play together again. It was a special feeling.”
Dessers made his senior debut for Nigeria in October 2020, after switching allegiance from Belgium. He has since scored three goals in seven appearances for the Super Eagles.
Striker Competition
Despite consistent club performances, Dessers has often been overlooked for national selection. He acknowledged the intense competition among Nigerian forwards.
“I don’t make the selections, and there’s a lot of competition among the strikers — we have some very good players,” he added.
“All I can do is focus on performing well for my club and scoring goals. Whenever I’m called up, I try to show what I can do. I think I did that yesterday, and I hope to be involved in the next game as well.”
Rangers’ Form and Frustrations
Dessers ended the 2024–25 season as the Scottish Premiership’s top scorer, securing the Golden Boot and the Sam English Bowl award. Despite his 30-goal haul, Rangers ended the season without silverware.
The Ibrox side were eliminated early in the Scottish Cup, lost the League Cup final to Celtic, and exited the Europa League at the quarter-final stage against Athletic Bilbao. Celtic also clinched the Scottish Premiership title.
“From a team perspective, at Rangers, we needed to win a big trophy, and unfortunately, we didn’t achieve that last season. That was disappointing. But on a personal level, I scored 30 goals, and I can be proud of that,” he said.
Managerial Changes at Rangers
Dessers also reflected on the managerial changes at Rangers, with Philippe Clement departing mid-season and Barry Ferguson stepping in as caretaker.
“Phillipe Clement is a good coach. We started the season with him, and later Barry Ferguson came in as caretaker manager. It’s never easy to take over a team in the middle of a challenging season, but Barry worked hard to turn things around and get everyone on the same page.”
“We had some positive moments — especially in the Europa League, where we won two good games against Fenerbahce, a very strong team coached by Jose Mourinho. So there were definitely things to be grateful for.”
Transfer Speculation
As the summer transfer window approaches, speculation continues to swirl around Dessers’ future.
The Nigerian has been linked with moves to Greek sides Olympiacos and AEK Athens in recent windows. Despite the rumours, Dessers insists he remains committed to Rangers.
“I still have two years left on my contract with Rangers. It’s a fantastic club, and I’m happy there.”
“When you score that number of goals, it’s normal for other teams to show interest. I’ve seen the links with Olympiacos, but I don’t know anything specific about that. These kinds of rumours are normal, but for now, I’m staying focused and looking forward to enjoying my holiday in a few weeks,” he concluded.
