Kickoff (Cape Town)
20 November 2008
Gabriel Agbonlahor was on Wednesday night, finally lost to Nigeria after earning his first full England cap in a 2-1 win over Germany.
The forward, who has a Nigerian father, was eligible to play for the Super Eagles until Wednesday night, and was actually listed by Nigeria coach Shuaibu Amodu in his 50-man pool of players to prosecute the 2010 World Cup qualifiers.
But no direct, official contact was made with the player, who publicly maintained that he was holding out for an England place.
He finally got his wish, as manager Fabio Capello not only called hum up, for the second time, but actually handed him a starting place.
Agbonlahor played 77 minutes and troubled Germany with his pace and direct running before making way for Aston Villa team mate Ashley Young.
There were hopes in certain quarters that as long as he was yet to pull on the Three lions shirt, he could yet consider switching allegiance to his father's country of birth after representing England at Under 21 level.
But Wednesday night's cap means the forward can now no longer play for Nigeria.
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