From 36 Lion FC in Lagos to the UEFA Champions League and now the Super Eagles, Moses Usor’s rapid rise has earned another significant milestone in his football career.
36 Lion Football Club have congratulated their graduate, Moses Usor, following his first invitation to the senior Nigeria national team for the opening 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau.
Nigeria will face Madagascar in Uyo on 25 September, before travelling to face Guinea-Bissau on 29 September, with Usor included in head coach Éric Chelle’s 24-man squad.
For 36 Lion FC, the call-up represents another landmark moment in the development of a player who began his journey in Lagos and has gone on to establish himself in European football.
Usor had previously been invited for Nigeria’s Unity Cup campaign in London earlier this year, but an injury prevented him from taking part and making his senior international debut.
The 24-year-old forward has made a strong start to the 2026/27 season with Austrian club LASK, producing goals and assists while making his mark in the UEFA Champions League.
According to current season statistics, Usor has recorded three goals and five assists in 11 matches across competitions.
His standout European moment came during LASK’s dramatic Champions League play-off against Celtic. After losing the first leg 3-0 in Glasgow, LASK produced a remarkable 5-1 extra-time victory in Linz to overturn the deficit and advance to the league phase.
Usor played a decisive role, scoring LASK’s opening goal and providing an assist in the comeback.
Usor’s rise also underlines the role of 36 Lion FC in developing young Nigerian footballers and providing a pathway towards professional football in Europe.
At LASK, he was part of the team that ended the club’s 61-year wait for the Austrian Bundesliga title last season and also completed a domestic double. He finished the campaign with 15 goals and 10 assists in 35 matches across all competitions, according to reports on his 2025/26 season.
For the Lagos-based club, his latest achievement is a moment of pride and another example of the potential that can emerge from grassroots and academy football.
36 Lion FC Head Coach, Akinshola Akinrele, popularly known as Baba Arigo, described Usor’s Super Eagles invitation as the product of persistence and hard work.
“We are extremely proud of Moses. This is not luck, this is work. From the streets of Lagos to the Champions League and now the Super Eagles, he has followed the process.
“When injury took the Unity Cup away from him, we told him that his time would come again. Today, that opportunity has arrived.
“He is a true Lion product, hardworking, humble and hungry. Nigeria will now have the opportunity to see what we have always seen in him.”
Usor’s first senior international invitation adds another chapter to a career that has taken him from Lagos to the Austrian Bundesliga and the UEFA Champions League.
For 36 Lion FC, it is also a moment that reflects the club’s continued commitment to identifying, developing and creating pathways for young Nigerian football talent.
The club’s management, coaching staff and players wish Moses Usor a successful Super Eagles debut and a strong international camp as Nigeria begins its road to the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.
