Abraham, who recently returned to the Premier League from Beşiktaş, signing a four-and-a-half-year deal with Unai Emery’s Aston Villa, was born in London and is eligible to play for Nigeria through his father. However, he eventually pledged his international future to England, making his debut in a European Championship qualifier against the Czech Republic.
Speaking on The Playzone and Dangolo Way podcast, Pinnick revealed that he personally held talks with Abraham and believed the forward was set to switch allegiance to Nigeria. He also said he expected his close relationship with Abraham’s father to help influence the decision, but the striker later changed his mind.
“We sat like this. We had agreed that he would come to play, but at the last moment he changed his decision,” Pinnick said, expressing regret over the outcome.
Pinnick added that Nigeria’s approach to recruiting foreign-born talents was motivated by the long-term benefits international football can offer a player’s career. He highlighted Alex Iwobi as a success story of Nigeria’s efforts, suggesting the midfielder might have faded from international prominence if he had stayed with England.
“If your football club doesn’t support you, your national team will. The display at the last Africa Cup of Nations was notable,” Pinnick said, referring to Nigeria’s recent performance.
He also implied that Abraham’s career trajectory could have been different had he chosen Nigeria, noting:
“Now he’s 28 and has returned to Aston Villa, but I can tell you that I regret it… He would have played for Nigeria.”
Abraham has so far earned 11 caps for England, scoring three goals, but has not featured for the national team since a UEFA Nations League match against Italy in June 2022.