Super Eagles midfielder Wilfred Ndidi reckons his knowledge of newly-appointed Fennecs of Algeria coach Georges Leekens will come in handy when both teams clash in the crucial 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier on November 12 at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo.
Ndidi, who also saw 90minutes action for his Belgian top-flight side in their 2-0 win over Westerlo on Saturday also revealed that though little is known about the Fennecs but he’s played severally against Leekens well from his time with Belgian Pro League side Lokeren.
“I know the coach while he was at Lokeren. We beat his team 3-0 away in our last game against them. Though I expect his Algerian team to be stronger than Lokeren were, I still think his formation and philosophy won’t be different and I will be passing that on to the appropriate quarters,” he said.
The former Flying Eagles defender also described as timely the return to the national team of the duo of Portugal-based Oghenekaro Etebo and Isreali-based midfielder John Ogu for the game against Algeria.
“I’m happy to see that Etebo as well as Ogu are coming back. Their qualities are undoubted and they will add to the depth of options available to the coaches. I’ve not been in camp with Ogu before but I was in the team that played Luxembourg with Etebo. He is very hardworking and funny. He livens up the camp with his jokes and I’m sure we’ll have a nice time in camp,” the former Nath Boys of Lagos graduate said.
The KRC Genk of Belgium star midfielder also insists that the Nigerian team is not afraid of the intimidating credentials of the Fennecs of Algeria as the countdown to the crucial game effectively kicked off with the release of the names of players to prosecute the game.
The defensive midfielder insists that Nigeria can boast of enough quality talents as much as the Algerians and that it will be down to attitude on the day when the game kicks off.
He said: “Much has been said about the fact that Algeria have Riyad Mahrez and Islam Slimane at Leicester City as well as Sofiane Feghouli in West Ham but Nigeria also have Alex Iwobi at Arsenal, Kelechi Iheanacho at Manchester City, Mikel Obi at Chelsea, Ahmed Musa at Leicester and the duo of Odion Ighalo and Isaac Success at Watford. I think reputation and pedigree will count for little as it will be down to who wants it most and I’m sure we are fired up for victory.”
Nigeria top the group with three points and Algeria and Cameroun are joint second with a point each while Zambia’s Chipolopolo are without a point.
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