In October 2017 when Nigeria qualified for the FIFA World Cup in Russia, the Mundial looked so far away. But Russia 2018 is now just a matter of weeks away. This explains why members of the Nigerian team, the Super Eagles, are sizing up their opponents frantically.
Super Eagles’ midfielder, Wilfred Ndidi, has been baring his mind on the task ahead. He believes that Nigeria is in a tough group, but he says that the team’s ambition is to beat all its opponents in the play-off round. The Nigerian squad will play in Group D alongside Croatia, Argentina and Iceland.
Chatting with newsmen in London on Wednesday, Ndidi identified Argentina’s Lionel Messi as the biggest factor in the group and insisted the Eagles would be in a good stead to face the Barcelona star and his team if it wins its games against Croatia and Iceland. Nigeria will open its World Cup campaign against Croatia on June 16 before facing Iceland six days later and square up against Argentina on June 26.
He described the Argentina team as “very good because Messi is unstoppable. He is the best player in the world. But I think we are in a group where we can do something. It depends on our preparations and how much we badly we want victory”. Ndidi expatiated further, “We want to make history, we want to do well. We want to make sure we go there believing we can beat Argentina, Croatia and Iceland”.
The Super Eagles are scheduled to play friendly matches against Congo, England, and the Czech Republic as part of the squad’s final preparations for the World Cup.
