Portugal-based club Alverca have celebrated defender, Isaac James after the 22-year-old received his first invitation to the Nigeria senior national team.
James was named in coach Eric Chelle’s 24-man squad for Nigeria’s opening 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches against Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau.
Reacting to the defender’s selection, Alverca congratulated him through a message on its official social media account.
“Isaac James was convocado for the first time to represent the Nigerian National Team 🇳🇬. Our athlete was selected for the matches in the Qualifying Phase for the CAN 2027,” the club said.
The call-up comes after an impressive start to the 2026/27 season, with James featuring in all six of Alverca’s Primeira Liga matches so far.
He has accumulated 514 minutes and provided two assists.
The left-back started against Porto, Estrela da Amadora, Sporting CP, Santa Clara, Braga and Nacional, with his latest appearance coming in Alverca’s 3-1 away victory over Nacional on September 12.
He played 79 minutes in the match.
James has also shown his versatility, having operated as a left-back, left midfielder and left-sided centre-back.
His ability to cover different positions has made him a useful option for Alverca coach Sérgio Ferreira.
The defender began his career with Garden City Panthers before moving to France, where he joined Lorient in 2022.
He developed with the club’s reserve side before making his senior debut in a 2-0 Ligue 2 victory over Grenoble on August 24, 2024.
He was part of the Lorient squad that won the Ligue 2 title in the 2024/25 season before moving to Alverca in July 2025.
During his first season in Portugal, James made 19 Primeira Liga appearances, starting 15 matches and registering two assists.
His first Super Eagles invitation comes as Nigeria deal with an injury to Zaidu Sanusi, who has been ruled out of the upcoming qualifiers.
Chelle also selected Ola Aina and Bruno Onyemaechi as options at left-back, with James providing another alternative on the left side of defence.
Nigeria will begin their AFCON 2027 qualifying campaign against Madagascar at the Godswill Akpabio in Uyo on September 25 before travelling to face Guinea-Bissau four days later.
