Super Eagles forward Kelechi Iheanacho remains upbeat about the team’s chances of turning their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign around ahead of the resumption of the series in March 2025, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
Iheanacho and his teammates just ended the 2025 AFCON qualifiers campaign on a sour note, losing 2-1 at home to Rwanda in the last game of the series, although the defeat didn’t jeopardise their qualification, having done that with two games to spare.
The Rwanda game was also the last engagement of the team in 2024 and they will hope to regroup in four months to reignite their chances of reaching the tournament which will be hosted by the USA, Canada and Mexico.
“If we come, we just need to know that this team is very serious and important to us,” Iheanacho told Victor Modo.
“We need to win these games. We must not lose any till the end. We have a strong squad to deal with these countries, so we have to win these games.”
After four matches, the Super Eagles are fifth in the series with just three points, needing to win all their remaining six matches to stand a chance of progressing.
Ironically, the teams below Nigeria in the AFCON qualifying campaign – the Benin Republic and Rwanda – are among the joint table toppers with South Africa in the World Cup qualifiers with seven points each.
“We must go with red eyes and win all these games. This is World Cup qualifiers and we know how big it is. And now we have how many draws? They are the ones ahead in the World Cup qualifiers and they are down here.
“I can’t wait for it to start so that we just go there and do this thing so everyone will rest and not shake that we won’t go to the World Cup.”
Nigeria will travel to face Rwanda and return home to face Zimbabwe in March 2025. The return leg against Rwanda in Nigeria will come up in September before other dates with South Africa, also in September while an away trip to Lesotho and a home clash against the Benin Republic will wrap up the campaign in October 2025.