Arsenal attacker, Alex Iwobi has come out with an emphatic declaration that Nigeria can be champions of this year’s World Cup in Russia, as he believes the current Super Eagles’ squad is loaded with immensely talented youngsters, who are hungry for success.
Though Iwobi admitted many odds are against the Eagles emerging tops of all in Russia, he disclosed that he has held a glorious dream for many years of seeing a Nigerian skipper lift the global trophy aloft.
He declared that the Eagles have high hopes going to Russia 2018, because they qualified from a tough group that had African champions, Cameroon as well as two former continental kings, Algeria and Zambia.
Though no African nation has reached the World Cup semi-finals, Iwobi says he will not stop believing in Nigeria’s ability to cause a shock or two this year in Russia.
Iwobi and his pals will face two-time world champions Argentina, 1998 semi-finalists Croatia and debutants Iceland in Group D.
Argentina and Croatia parade some of the best players in the world at the moment but Iwobi, who scored a brace in Nigeria’s 4-2 win in a friendly encounter against the South Americans last year, said he is not apprehensive.
Rather than be cowed by the opposing teams’ potentials and stars, Iwobi said winning the upcoming tournament is something he has discussed with his teammates.
Having represented England at youth level, Iwobi made his international debut for Nigeria in 2016 and is now a regular feature in a young Eagles side which includes recent youth internationals like Kelechi Iheanacho, Wilfred Ndidi and Moses Simon.
Iwobi said: “The way we qualified in the group made us very confident. We’ve played against some big teams, some big countries, so we are very confident that we can go far.”
