Ndidi donates food items to Nigerians, sure of Eagles’ qualification for World Cup

Super Eagles midfielder, Wilfred Ndidi, has assured Nigerians that the national team players will do everything possible to qualify for the 2026 World Cup to be hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

Nigeria is currently in fifth position with three points in Group C of the World Cup qualifying series, which also contains South Africa, Rwanda and Benin Republic that have seven points apiece. Lesotho is in fourth position with five points with six games to go.

Speaking on Nigeria’s chances of making the trip to North America, Ndidi said that although the Super Eagles didn’t start the qualifiers well, the players have resolved to make up for lost points by winning all their remaining matches.

“We will be judged by what we do now going forward. The AFCON qualifiers has given us the confidence to go into the World Cup qualifiers with a good mindset. But we cannot afford to lose any more game because if we do it is all over.

“The main focus among the players is qualifying for the World Cup because so many of the current players have not experienced it. Even the young players are not guaranteed a future World Cup if they miss this one. So, we are all determined to ensure that we make it this time,” he said.

The Leicester City star said qualifying for the World Cup is one of the major things the players discuss whenever they chat, adding, “we believe we have the quality to win all our matches. This is not club football, it is the World Cup and everybody wants to be at the World Cup.”

He assured Nigerians that the coaching situation in the team, which has seen Austin Eguavoen managing the team as interim coach, will not affect the national team’s fortunes. Ndidi said: “We are not worried about who is the coach; our focus is on winning the games and not on tactics or who is in charge.

“The World Cup comes every four years and it is an opportunity for us to play at the biggest stage.”He also said that the players are not bothered by the politics going on behind the scene.

“Our focus is on what we do on the pitch because if we fail, the backlash will be on the players and not the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF). Growing up, I knew nothing about the NFF but I knew about Mikel Obi and the top players. It is our life, our career and we are determined to ensure we make the best use of the remaining games in the qualifiers.”

The World Cup qualifiers will resume on March 17 next year with Nigeria playing away to Rwanda. Meanwhile, Ndidi has put smile on faces of some Nigerians by giving food items on Christmas Day.

“This is a project where we try to put smiles on the faces of kids and creating memories for them this Christmas,” he said. “We did one in June. This is to reenact what I experienced as a kid growing up in the barracks. This is a way of just touching lives and having fun with these children.

“These kids will grow up to remember this day. You know there this is not about football, it is to focus on the kids as human beings and try to inculcate in them the mindset of helping each other.

“For this children, coming together is much more than the food they will eat here. I decided to do it in Nigeria, Ajegunle, because my people need it. This is the city I grew up, and I came here because while growing up we heard so much about Ajegunle.

“They had popular people in music and sports. I heard about Ighalo as a kid before I met him in the national team. We want to develop the kids mentally and socially,” he said.

On why he chooses Lagos instead of his State in Delta, Ndidi said he has embarked on a different kind of intervention in his home town in Delta State, saying that his community’s needs are different from what the Lagos society wants.

“I am doing more of development in Delta. I built a city council for my community and now I am trying to provide pipeborne water for my people because water is a big problem for us there,” Ndidi stated.