Nigeria international Cyriel Dessers was on target yet again as Feyenoord defeated Partizan 3-1 to reach the quarter-finals of the Europa Conference League on Thursday.
The 27-year-old, who was overlooked by Nigeria coach Augustine Eguavoen ahead of their 2022 World Cup qualifying play-off fixture against Ghana later this month, opened the scoring for the home team at Feyenoord Stadium in the 45th minute.
Reiss Nelson, who is on loan from Arsenal then made it 2-0 in the 59th minute before Partizan pulled a goal back courtesy of Ricardo Jorge Pires Gomes in the 61st minute.
However, second-half substitute Bryan Linssen ensured Feyenoord won the Round of 16 fixture with a fine strike in the 90th minute. The outcome of the game ensured Feyenoord qualified with a convincing 8-3 aggregate score after having won the first leg 5-2 away from home.
Dessers, who is on loan from Belgian side Genk, has now scored in four straight games. While he has so far managed six goals in the Eredivisie, he has also scored five goals in the Europa Conference tournament after seven matches making it 13 goals in all competitions.
In a recent interview, Nigeria coach Eguavoen shed light on why he omitted Dessers from his squad for the Black Stars game.
“There are plans. Talking about Cyriel Dessers where is he playing? NPFL? The answer is no so am I going to take a train from here to Holland, the answer is no, so the time has to be right,” Eguavoen said.
“When I say I haven't watched the players I'm talking about having watched them live. On television, of course, I follow. That brings me back to Peter [Etebo] whom I have worked closely with, I have seen, interacted with.”
The first leg meeting between the Super Eagles and the Black Stars will be staged at Kumasi Yara Sports Stadium on March 25. This is after Caf confirmed the unavailability of Cape Coast Stadium to host the game.
Nigeria will then host the second leg at the MKO Abiola Stadium in Abuja, with the winners on aggregate qualifying for the global football showpiece.