By Balogun Kamilu Lekan
Biography
Ebere Paul Onuachu is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays for the Belgian club Genk and the Nigeria national team as a forward
He was born on 28 May 1994 in Owerri, Nigeria.
Onachu holds the record for scoring the second-fastest goal in the history of international football at his debut international match for the Eagles against Egypt in an international friendly.
Onuachu’s goal is only second to Lukas Podolski’s strike after six seconds for Germany against Ecuador in 2013.
Career
Club Career
He began his professional career with FC Ebedei in Ogun State in Nigeria’s third-level league.
In 2012, he received a scholarship from the local club, an affiliate club for a Danish club. The scholarship enabled Paul to join the Danish team FC Midtjylland, where he launched a new career as a forward in Europe.
After joining FC Midtjylland, Onuachu made his debut as a youth player in a cup match in 2012, and he made his league debut in December of the same year.
In June 2013, he extended his contract with the club by signing a new three-year deal which he renewed for another three years in 2015.
After renewing his contract with his club, he was loaned to the Jutland team Vejle BK, where he played 13 games and scored five goals.
Later that season, Onuachu returned to FC Midtjylland, extending his goal-scoring streak until August 2019. During his seven-year stint with FC Midtjylland, he appeared in 181 games and scored 74 goals for an average of 0.4 goals per game. Winning 2 league titles and a cup with the club
His performance with the club made him a target for other clubs. In the 2015 summer transfer window, he joined Belgian professional football league giants Genk for 6 million Euros.
Onuachu recorded a number of goals in his debut season in just 12 games in the following season.
He went on to win the Jupiler Pro League with Genk in 2021 and received some personal awards.
International Career
Although his football career began in Nigeria, Onuachu did not play for his country’s national team until 2015.
The coach of Nigeria’s U23 team was impressed by his performance with his Danish club.
Soon after, he was called up to national service and played in his first national team encounter in preparation for AFCON 2019.
His first senior team encounter with his country came against Seychelles.
Despite failing to score in the 2019 AFCON qualifying against Seychelles, national team coach Gernot Rohr later used him in a friendly against Egypt.
In a friendly encounter against Egypt, he scored his first international goal. The goal came few seconds to the match and yearned a spot in FIFA’s list of fastest goals ever scored.
He appeared in Nigeria’s 1-0 victory against Burundi in the AFCON tournament and went on to win a bronze medal after defeating Tunisia.
Onuachu was also named to the squad for the friendly match against Cameroon on June 4th and 8th, 2021.
Relationship
Onachu is married to Tracy Acheampong
Net worth
Onachu’s net worth is an estimated $2.5 million. However, NewsWireNgr cannot independently verify this
Achievements
Midtjylland
- Danish Superliga: 2014–15, 2017–18
- Danish Cup: 2018–19
Genk
- Belgian Cup: 2020–21
Nigeria
- Africa Cup of Nations: third place 2019
Individual
- Belgian First Division A top scorer: 2020–21
- Belgian Professional Footballer of the Year: 2020–21
- Belgian Golden Shoe: 2021
Disclaimer
The information in this article was curated from online sources. NewsWireNGR or its editorial team cannot independently verify all details.
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