Super Eagles talismanic striker Victor Osimhen believed that the team needs to correct the mistakes they made in the first phase of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, if they are to be in contention again for qualification to the tournament in the Americas.
Nigeria, who did not qualify for the last World Cup after going down to Ghana in a two-legged playoff, began on a poor note after drawing three of their initial four games, and host Rwanda on Friday, who have a four-point lead over them. Osimhen, who missed most of those games, has returned and is hoping to inspire his teammates to catch up, recounting in an interview on the John Obi Mikel’s ‘Obi One’ podcast:
“We have to give everything.
“It is the dream of every youngster to be at the World Cup, mine is no exception. I want to be there, just like every other of my Super Eagles teammates and we are really looking forward to the game against Rwanda to try to correct all the mistakes we have made in the past World Cup qualifiers so for me, we will be ready.”
According to leadershipng, Nigeria’s first four games were played with two different coaches. Jose Peseiro coached the first two which ended in draws, while Finidi George coached the last two, losing to Benin Republic and drawing at home against South Africa. Those results cost him his job.
Now, Eric Sekou Chelle is at the helm and Osimhen says the new man can reinvigorate the team: “He called me, we spoke. I know him from the previous AFCON and what he did with the Mali team. We watched Mali and he’s a coach that really loves to play, that really loves to flight. Similar to me.
ESPN reports that Galatasaray’s striker, who is known as a combative player on the field, took that to heart and was one of the first players to turn up in Nigeria’s camp in Rwanda when the camp opened early this week, arriving only 24 hours after securing a league win for Gala at the weekend.
He said: “Nigeria is a big country, with millions of football players. So if you are privileged to put on the jersey, you have to give everything. Now we have a coach that is ready to give everything and I believe we all have to follow his example and give everything.”
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