Nigeria Has Every Reason to Qualify for 2026 World Cup
Festus Odini, a former FIFA U-17 World Cup champion, expressed his belief that the Nigerian national team, the Super Eagles, will have no justifiable reason for failing to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, which will be jointly hosted by Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
In response to Nigeria being placed in Group C alongside South Africa, Benin Republic, Rwanda, Lesotho, and Zimbabwe for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, the former Golden Eaglets standout emphasized the importance of not underestimating any team. Odini specifically highlighted South Africa and Benin as potential threats to the Super Eagles, urging caution and respect towards these opponents.
That group seems straightforward for Nigeria, but you should be aware that there are no longer any pushovers in modern football, according to Odini.
Every nation desires to participate in the World Cup since it is a major event that every football player desires to play in.
All hands must be on deck, in my opinion, if we are to have any chance of making the 2026 World Cup.
When questioned about his confidence in the Super Eagles' ability to comfortably top the group, Odini emphasized that football offers no guarantees of success, and Nigeria, like any other team, must earn their place in the World Cup.
He stated that this time, the Super Eagles need to exert maximum effort during the qualification phase, as no excuses can justify their failure to qualify for the World Cup, especially after missing out on the 2022 edition in Qatar.
"Without a doubt, Nigeria must exert every effort to secure a spot in the upcoming global showpiece, and to accomplish that, we need to ensure impeccable preparations," stated Odini.
"This is due to the fact that while we may appear stronger than many of the teams in our group on paper, modern-day football shows no regard for reputations.
"As I mentioned before, every nation aspires to participate in the World Cup, and personally, I believe that South Africa will present us with some challenging moments to ponder."
Among Nigeria's Group C adversaries, the Republic of Benin is led by Gernot Rohr, who was dismissed as the manager of the Super Eagles in December 2021. Odini expressed that Rohr will view this grouping as an opportunity to make a statement by defeating Nigeria.
"He will go to great lengths to prove that our decision to dismiss him was misguided, that we committed a grave error by letting him go," he remarked.
"In turn, we must demonstrate to him that we had valid grounds for parting ways by triumphing over the Republic of Benin in both home and away matches, ultimately securing our place in the World Cup."
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