The three-time African champions have already qualified for the continental championship, but the challenge of World Cup qualification awaits ahead
With Kelechi Iheanacho and Paul Onuachu firing from all cylinders, the Super Eagles will have no difficulty qualifying for the FIFA World Cup next year, says former Nigerian international Mutiu Adepoju.
The Super Eagles begin their quest for qualification for Qatar 2022 next month and have been grouped alongside Liberia, Cape Verde, and the Central African Republic
The 2013 Afcon kings will need all players to be at their best to outwit the three challengers as only group winners will advance to the next stage.
Victor Osimhen is Nigeria’s undisputed number nine at the moment, with the Napoli ace contributing five goals during the qualifiers for Cameroon 2022.
But he was ably supported by Leicester City’s Iheanacho and Genk’s Paul Onuachu, who scored two goals in games against the Benin Republic and Lesotho.
Iheanacho has been in a rich vein of form, winning the Premier League’s player of the month and his club’s Best Goal for March. Onuachu has not fared any less, outscoring all strikers in the Belgian top-flight.
Adepoju, a veteran of two world cups, believes the strikers will be crucial to Nigeria’s qualification hopes.
“With the World Cup qualifiers around the corner, the fine form of Iheanacho and Onuachu is good because it will make the Eagles forward line more competitive,” Adepoju told the Punch.
“I hope that they maintain this form because injury drops players’ form.”
Adepoju helped Nigeria qualify for her first World Cup in 1994 and was also a member of the Super Eagles squad that made it to the Round of 16 at France 98.
This post was last modified on April 10, 2021 5:55 am