{"id":6406,"date":"2024-03-16T16:45:11","date_gmt":"2024-03-16T15:45:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/faca.com.ng\/web\/2024\/03\/16\/italy-move-ahead-of-nigeria-to-hand-michael-folorunsho-international-call-up\/"},"modified":"2024-03-16T16:45:11","modified_gmt":"2024-03-16T15:45:11","slug":"italy-move-ahead-of-nigeria-to-hand-michael-folorunsho-international-call-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/faca.com.ng\/web\/2024\/03\/16\/italy-move-ahead-of-nigeria-to-hand-michael-folorunsho-international-call-up\/","title":{"rendered":"Italy move ahead of Nigeria to hand Michael Folorunsho international call-up"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Italian-born Nigerian midfielder Michael Folorunsho has received a call-up to the Italian national team for the March International break. SportsRation reports.<\/p>\n<p>Folorunsho, 26, currently plays for Serie A side Hellas Verona, on loan from Napoli, where he caught the attention of national team selectors.<\/p>\n<p>His standout moment came when he secured the February Serie A Goal of the Month award for a stunning volley against Juventus, showcasing his skill and impact on the pitch.<\/p>\n<p>Primarily operating as a central midfielder, Folorunsho\u2019s versatility allows him to also play on the wings. He has demonstrated consistency by starting in twenty-six games for Giallo Blu this season.<\/p>\n<p>Born in Rome, Italy, to a Nigerian father, Folorunsho began his career in the Italian third division with Virtus Francavilla in 2017, before being acquired by Napoli after scoring eight goals for his former club.<\/p>\n<p>Although initially struggling to find his footing at Napoli, Folorunsho gained valuable experience during loan spells at various clubs, including Hellas Verona, where he has been making a name for himself.<\/p>\n<p>Despite being seen as a potential solution to Nigeria\u2019s midfield needs, Folorunsho has opted to represent Italy, influenced by his Italian heritage and the opportunity presented by the Italian national team.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier reports quoted Italian manager Luciano Spaletti describing Folorunsho as a \u201cbeast\u201d and expressing his determination to secure the midfielder\u2019s commitment to Italy.<\/p>\n<p>With four goals and one assist in twenty-six appearances for Hellas Verona this season, Folorunsho remains focused on helping his club maintain their top-flight status, as they currently sit two points above the relegation zone in Serie A.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/sportsration.com\/italy-move-ahead-of-nigeria-to-hand-michael-folorunsho-international-call-up\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Italian-born Nigerian midfielder Michael Folorunsho has received a call-up to the Italian national team for the March International break. SportsRation reports. Folorunsho, 26, currently plays for Serie A side Hellas Verona, on loan from Napoli, where he caught the attention of national team selectors. His standout moment came when he secured the February Serie A [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6210,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6406","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/faca.com.ng\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6406","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/faca.com.ng\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/faca.com.ng\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faca.com.ng\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faca.com.ng\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6406"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/faca.com.ng\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6406\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faca.com.ng\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6210"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/faca.com.ng\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6406"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faca.com.ng\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6406"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faca.com.ng\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6406"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}