Making his first appearance for the national team in two years, one of Rangers’ key men could have been forgiven for feeling the pressure. Especially as his place in the starting XI owed much to the fact that arguably the biggest star on the continent – his country’s £94 million Serie A-winning superstar – was ruled out through injury pre-match.
But if Cyriel Dessers had a few butterflies fluttering around in the pits of his stomach, you never would have guessed it as the Belgian-born frontman opened the scoring from the penalty spot with 38 minutes on the clock during Friday’s 2-1 friendly victory over Ghana.
Handed a shock but deserved call-up by caretaker coach and Nigeria legend Finidi George, Dessers scored only a second goal for his country and a first since 2022.
It’s easy to forget, only a few months ago, that Dessers looked destined to cement his place as one of Rangers’ most infamous flops of the modern era. A return to the national team set-up, following a disastrous start to life at Ibrox, could hardly have looked further away.
So as his coolly-taken spot-kick hit the back of the Ghana net, it must have felt particularly cathartic for a striker who has even Celtic icon Chris Sutton admitting that he was wrong.
Rangers striker a ‘menace’ on international return
“It’s special to take a penalty for the Super Eagles, because it’s for a whole country and in a special game against Ghana. You’ll definitely want to score,” Dessers smiles, speaking to All Nigeria Soccer while thanking team-mate and usual spot-kick taker Kelechi Iheanacho for handing him the penalty.
“I was happy to finally get the goal that put us 1-0 up. It’s a good victory for us. First-half, I played a really good game. Second-half was a little bit more difficult but I think it was more difficult for the whole team.
“This is a good thing for me to come back to the team and to play a good game, to win an important game. Hopefully this can be a step up for the future.”
Back in favour and back in the goals
His goal will make headlines, but it was the manner of Dessers’ overall performance which will boost his hopes of further opportunities under George, even when Osimhen is available again.
Rangers’ £4.5 million summer signing from Cremonese was handed a 7/10 rating by All Nigeria Soccer, the publication praising the Glasgow-based ‘menace’ for ‘causing problems to the opposition and contributing significantly to Nigeria’s attacking threat’.
“Dessers was a constant thorn in the side of the Ghanaian defence,” ANS writes. “Not only did he find the net with a crucial goal, but his movement and pace kept the Ghanaian backline on their toes throughout the game.”
Dessers, since mid-December, has now scored or assisted 13 goals for club and country.
“There’s no question Rangers are making progress under Clement,” Sutton told the Daily Record recently.
“Clement has got the senior players doing the business and bringing something out in boys that were tagged as not up to it. Cyriel Dessers is case in point. The Nigerian was being hounded as an out-and-out dud in the first weeks of the season. Now he’s scoring goals regularly.
“Important goals, into the bargain.”
