Ndidi: Super Eagles must fight to keep World Cup hopes alive

Ifeanyi Njoku
3 Min Read

Super Eagles midfielder Wilfred Ndidi has called on his teammates to give their all in the remaining 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, warning that failure to qualify would be a massive setback for Nigerian football.

Ndidi made this known during an X Space hosted by teammate Kenneth Omeruo on Monday, where he spoke about the team’s difficult position in the qualifiers.

“We know we’re in a difficult and critical situation, and we cannot let this slip because if some players miss out on playing at this World Cup, there might be no other guaranteed opportunity to go for the next World Cup,” Ndidi said.

The Super Eagles currently sit fifth in Group C with three points from four matches, four points behind joint leaders Rwanda, South Africa, and Benin Republic. Nigeria’s next matches are away to Rwanda in Kigali on March 17 and at home to Zimbabwe in Uyo seven days later.

“We put ourselves into this situation because we didn’t do well in the previous games, but I feel like the qualifying games for the AFCON and qualifying for the AFCON have created a new confidence in the team already to actually push towards qualifying for the World Cup,” Ndidi said.

Ndidi: Super Eagles must fight to keep World Cup hopes alive
Ndidi

The Leicester City star stressed the urgency of turning things around to avoid missing another World Cup after failing to qualify for Qatar 2022.

“The last World Cup I attended was in 2018; there was no opportunity to attend the one in Qatar. Some of the players who played in 2018 are not even on the national team anymore,” Ndidi said. “We have to take this seriously. Every player wants to play at the World Cup — we cannot just let this slip off our hands. We can’t accept that.”

Ndidi believes the team has the quality and mindset to get back on track but insists that the players must show their best performances in the remaining matches.

“There’s no excuse going forward. We just have to show our qualities and get the points as much as we can,” he added.

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