Arsenal star Alex Iwobi is confident Nigeria can make it to the next World Cup in Russia despite being draw in what many see as a tough group.
The 20-year-old burst onto the scene at the end of last season with two goals and two assists in 13 Premier League appearances.
After being capped at youth level by England, he opted to play senior international football for the country of his birth, playing his first game for Nigeria in a friendly against the DR Congo.
Disappointingly, Iwobi was part of the Super Eagles squad that was knocked out of CAF Africa Cup of Nations 2017 qualifying by Egypt. “The Nations Cup is the biggest sporting tournament in Africa, so we were gutted. But as a team we have to look forward and focus on the World Cup and our qualification matches,” he told FIFA..com
Having received a low seeding, Nigeria were drawn in an extremely difficult section alongside Algeria, Cameroon and Zambia in the African Zone qualifiers for Russia 2018. “It is a tough group for sure, but I don’t think there are any easy groups – it’s international level competition. I’m confident we can prevail, we definitely have the players to. If we prepare well, focus and play to the best of our ability I’m sure we will qualify.
“All the teams [in the group] are good teams that have been former AFCON winners, and have players playing at the highest level, so we know we’ll be up against well-prepared teams.”
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