Leicester City midfielder, Wilfred Onyinyen Ndidi has declared that he and other players in the Super Eagles will give everything they have to ensure they win Friday’s match against Iceland.
The former Racing Genk of Belgium battler acknowledged that victory would mean an early exit from the Mundial for Nigeria, hence his declaration that they are human and know where the emotions of the country lie, which makes them more determined than ever to win on Friday.
Nigeria would become the third African country to be eliminated – after Morocco and Egypt – if they lose to the Nordic country, and Ndidi said they have recovered from the loss to Croatia and their focus is on Iceland.
He said: ”Even though we are players, we are also Nigerians. We have put the loss behind us, we will give everything we have in the next game, we will die there in the next game.”
Incidentally, Ndidi has been rated among the tall players Iceland’s coach has singled out for special attention from his players in Friday’s match.
The Nordic Nation’s manager, Heimir Hallgrímsson has named two Super Eagles players who are extremely good in the air amid fears that the three-time African champions are struggling to defend set-pieces.
Nigeria have conceded four goals from set-pieces in their last three international games and Hallgrimsson says his team will exploit that weakness in Friday’s game at Volgograd Arena.
He said: ”I think. Ndidi and Ighalo are probably one of the best guys in the air, so this is just normal for us; we prepare set-pieces for every opponent we meet.
”But you conceded two goals last game from a set-piece so of course maybe there’s not a high confidence when you conceded, so we have to try to use that, like all our chances we get, normally we don’t get many.”
