Super Eagles and new Fulham winger, Samuel Chukwueze, is optimistic about Nigeria’s qualification to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, despite a poor start to the qualifiers, www.aclsports.com reports.
The 2013 African champions, who have used three managers in the qualification series, have only garnered 10 points from a possible 21 in the seven games played. However, things have taken a slight turn since the arrival of Eric Chelle, as the team has won twice and drawn once under his guidance, including Saturday’s narrow 1-0 win over Rwanda.
Despite the small resurgence, Nigeria are six points behind group leaders South Africa, who have garnered 16 points from the same number of games. Therefore, the Super Eagles must defeat Bafana Bafana in Bloemfontein on Tuesday to keep their qualification campaign alive.
“South Africa is a strong team. They have a good team as well,” Chukwueze told the NFF media team on Monday.
“They are first in the group but we are Nigerians and we have a good team also. So, we can compete with them. By the grace of God, I think we will win and get a good result here.
“The most important thing is for us to come here and win. We are really focused on that. We will be at the World Cup. It’s 100 percent sure. We all just need all Nigerians’ support. It’s not one person rooting for us. But it’s up to us to make it. I believe in this team. We have so many great talents. And we have to qualify. That’s the most important thing,” concluded the new Fulham winger.
While form might be a bit of a concern, the Super Eagles boast of a strong record against the South Africans. Across 16 past encounters with Bafana Bafana, the Super Eagles have claimed victory eight times, suffered just two defeats, and drawn on six occasions. Significantly, Nigeria has never lost on South African soil before.
