Manchester City forward, Kelechi Iheanacho says he will do everything under his control to help Nigeria qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
The 20-year-old highly-rated player, who was voted 2013 CAF Youth Player of the Year, scored his first competitive international goal against Tanzania in the inconsequential African Cup of Nations qualifier.
The Super Eagles will be up against the Chipolopolos in Ndola on Sunday in a Russia 2018 World Cup qualifier and Iheanacho is confident the Nigerians will start atoning for their AFCON failure.
He told Cafonline, “It’s unfortunate we missed out on the 2017 AFCON but we are not out of everything.”
“We have all put that behind us and our focus is on the next games. We have to take that as a lesson and come back stronger to qualify for the World Cup.
“I will also work hard for my country as an individual; and we are going to put in all hard work collectively as a team.
“The Zambia match an away game for us and is going to be a difficult one. We have great players that will make the difference against Zambia. We have to overcome Zambia first before we can talk about Cameroon and Algeria.
“However, it’s not going to be easy and nobody knows what’s going to happen. We will keep fighting as a team to get to the World Cup.”
Iheanacho, who has been impressive under City’s new boss, Pep Guardiola, praised the Spaniard’s impact.
He added, “Everyone knows what Guardiola can offer, and I’m happy he came to Manchester City.”
“He’s a great coach with great qualities. Guardiola is a great manager everybody knows and I’m happy to be part of his team. I’m really improving under him and I hope to work more anytime I get the chance to play.”
He said playing at the 2018 World Cup will be dream come true for him, while maintaining that he wants to win more individual awards as a player.
“To play in the FIFA World Cup will be a dream come true for me and is going to help my career as a player too.
“It was a great achievement for me and it helped me to improve my career as a footballer. I hope to work harder and win more awards.”
Comments