Festus Abu
Nigeria captain Mikel Obi vows the
Super Eagles will go all guns blazing against Zambia’s Chipolopolo in
their opening Russia 2018 World Cup Group B qualifier at Levy
Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola, Zambia, on Sunday.
The Chelsea midfielder, who helped the
national Under-23 team win bronze (the country’s only medal) at the
Rio 2016 Olympic Games, promised victory against their hosts to
maintain their continental superiority over them.
Zambia, who won their first African
title at the Gabon and Equatorial Guinea 2012 Africa Cup of Nations,
have not beaten Nigeria in a competitive game since their 1-0 victory
over the Eagles in their Egypt ’86 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in
Lusaka on August 18, 1985. Chipolopolo progressed to qualify for the
tournament.
Emmanuel Amuneke’s brace helped Nigeria
defeat Zambia to win the Tunisia ’94 Africa Cup of Nations But the
Zambians came back to beat the Eagles 5-4 on penalties after a 0-0
draw in the quarterfinals of the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations in Angola.
None of the 16 previous meetings was a World Cup qualifier.
And Mikel, who has not featured for Chelsea this season, said on Thursday the team were ready for the Ndola encounter.
“We are all looking forward to the
qualifying matches, starting with Sunday’s game in Zambia. Each and
every one of us knows what it means – big battles that we have to win.
We are ready for the challenge,” the 29-year-old, who represented
Nigeria at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, told Nigeria Football
Federation’s official website.
Meanwhile, the players have been promised their win bonus for last month’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Tanzania.
The Nigeria Football Federation also
promised to refund their flight tickets and camp allowances for the
World Cup qualifier against Zambia.
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