Kelechi Iheanacho is not bothered about the rivalry between Nigeria and Ghana ahead of the Qatar 2022 World Cup play-off as the Leicester City striker is optimistic that the Black Stars cannot stop the Super Eagles from joining the elite teams at the first World Cup in the Middle East.
Iheanacho who netted a brace during Golden Eagles’ 6-1 bashing of Ghana at the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup admitted that the tie is massive but expressed confidence in the ability of Eagles to humble the boasting Ghanaians.
“I’m 100-per-cent confident that we will go through. Obviously, they (Ghana) have a strong team, a strong squad, good players, and they really want to win as well, so it’s not going to be easy. It’s going to be a fight. We have to work really hard and want it more than them. But I have so much confidence in this Nigeria team and the group of lads we have here. I’m very confident we will be at the World Cup,” Iheanacho told FIFA.com.
The former Manchester City striker who made his World Cup debut at Russia 2018 believes the experience garnered in Russia was worthwhile while looking for another opportunity to showcase his talent in Qatar.
“We had a tough group at Russia 2018 but we managed to put in some good performances. We were a bit unlucky and we didn’t take our chances. But it was an amazing experience and you obviously remember playing against someone like Messi. But being at a World Cup makes you want to be at the next one even more. Hopefully, we can get past Ghana and take our chances in Qatar,” he added.
Ahead of today’s first leg tie in Kumasi, he said: “The match it is not just a rivalry – it’s way more than that. It’s a lot of things. It’s a massive game. It means everything to Nigerians anyway, and this time it’s for a World Cup place. I really hope we can go through and make our people happy.”
Excited about the return of Victor Osimhen to the squad, Iheanacho said: “Everybody knows he (Osimhen) is a fantastic striker. He’s a great goal poacher. He has great talent. I’m always very happy playing alongside him because I know his game, I know his strengths, and he knows mine as well. Sometimes I find myself playing behind him. I think we have a good partnership and hopefully, we’ll work more together going forward.”