JOE ARIBO doesn’t need many reminders of how far he has come in a short space of time this term.

But perhaps the ultimate proof will hit home in a couple of weeks when he lines up against the Samba superstars of Brazil in Singapore.

The last few months have seen Aribo showcase his skills at Wembley as he helped Charlton win promotion to the Championship, clinch a potentially defining move to Rangers and then make a dream international debut for Nigeria.

Now the midfielder is preparing for another hugely significant moment in his fledgling career after being called upon by Super Eagles boss Gernot Rohr for a second time.

“It was very good news to be called up to the Nigeria squad again and I’m happy I was able to do enough in the last game to earn a recall,” Aribo, who scored on his debut in the friendly with Ukraine, said.

“Games don’t come much bigger than Brazil and we know they’ve got a lot of stars like Neymar, of course. That’s the type of opponents I want to be playing against and it would be good to swap a jersey with one of those superstars.

“I’ll see so many stars and I’ll take a moment to realise that’s what I’ve been dreaming of. Everyone in my generation loved players like Ronaldinho and he played with some of the players in this team now so it’s like ‘wow’.

“The manager congratulated me on my debut goal against Ukraine. I wouldn’t say it was much of a step up from Rangers but it was good to play against opponents like that because Ukraine have a lot of good players.

“It was just good to be out there. I knew a few of the lads like Ola Aina and Alex Iwobi and they all welcomed me and made me feel at home so it wasn’t too hard to settle in.”

The performance that Aribo turned in on his first appearance for Nigeria earned him rave reviews in his adopted homeland and he was even compared to one of his idols.

The London-born playmaker is proud to have made his way into the international arena after realising his ambition on the world stage.

Aribo said: “I could have played for England but my parents are from Nigeria and I always watched players like Jay-Jay Okocha and Nwankwo Kanu as a kid so it was a no-brainer to play for them.

“I read the headline where a journalist compared me to Okocha after the Ukraine game - that’s putting a lot of pressure on me!

“I didn’t think international recognition would come so soon but it just shows the stature of Rangers and why it was a good decision to come here.

“I had to take three flights to get to Ukraine and the schedule this season has been quite hard but I’m trying to take it in my stride and I’m enjoying every minute of it.”

Before Aribo can mix it with some of the biggest names and most talented players in the game, he has domestic and European matters to attend to at Ibrox.

Rangers have emerged from the last international break in fine form and Premiership wins over Livingston and St Johnstone have kept them within touching distance of Celtic.

In the Europa League, a thrilling victory against Feyenoord gave them the perfect start in Group G ahead of the trip to Bern next Thursday.

The Gers are on the road once again this evening. Livingston is the destination and a place in the Betfred Cup semi-finals is at stake.

He said: “Everyone wants to be a winner but you have to taste success in order to know the feeling and keep craving it and the League One play-off final victory at Wembley has definitely given me that fire in my belly.

“It was a big game against Sunderland and the biggest crowd I’ve played in front of so I’ll just cherish that moment and one of the reasons I came here is to win trophies.

“I see the desire in this squad. Even in training everyone wants to win small-sided games. Nobody likes losing because it’s not a good feeling.”

The only time that Rangers have felt that disappointment came in their biggest fixture of the season so far.

Aribo came in for personal criticism in the aftermath of the Old Firm loss to Celtic at Ibrox. It is an experience he has learned from.

Aribo said: “The defeat to Celtic was a tough one to take because we were desperate to win but we had to learn from it and keep getting results and staying with them.

“I enjoy playing in the position I played in that day. The game didn’t go for us and it was just one of those days but we just have to come back stronger.

“You have to analyse your performance whether you win or lose and I definitely looked over that performance with the aim of improving.”