Zambia’ll be a hard nut to crack – Iheanacho, Echiejile

Manchester City’s  rising star Kelechi Iheanacho and  Monaco  defender Elderson Echiejile say   the Super Eagles will find it tough against Zambia’s Chipolopolo in  their opening Russia  2018 World Cup Group B qualifier at   Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola, Zambia, on Sunday.

Both sides  have met 16 times between 1973 and 2013, with   Nigeria triumphing over the Southern Africans  six times.  Zambia won  five times, including their  2010  Africa Cup of Nations  win  at their West African rivals’ expense in Angola. Chipolopolo beat the Eagles 5-4 on penalties after 0-0 in regulation time.  The  other five encounters between the two teams ended in draws.

Iheanacho is expected to lead Nigeria’s attack, with Echiejile   at left-back in the cracker scheduled to be played at 2pm Nigerian time.

 Iheanacho, who stepped  into the spotlight  after guiding the Golden Eaglets to victory at the 2013 FIFA Under-17 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates – and emerging as the tournament’s Golden Ball winner, has promised to play his heart out and give everything for the Eagles in Ndola.

The Man City forward, who turned 20 on Monday,  insists Nigeria  could not afford to miss out on a place at Russia 2018, urging the team to fight for their place in the finals.

“It’s unfortunate we missed out on the 2017 AFCON but we are not out of everything,” Iheanacho was quoted by Cafonline.com  as saying on Wednesday.

“We have all put that behind us and our focus is on the next games. We have to take that as a lesson and come back stronger to qualify for the World Cup. I will also work hard for my country as an individual; and we are going to put in all hard work collectively as a team.”

 He  said the Eagles should not expect an easy game against Zambia,  calling for the players to be focused throughout the encounter.

“It’s an away game for us and is going to be a difficult one. We have great players that will make the difference against Zambia. We have to overcome Zambia first before we can talk about Cameroon and Algeria. However, it’s not going to be easy and nobody knows what’s going to happen. We will keep fighting as a team to get to the World Cup.”

Iheanacho, who praised City manager Pep Guardiola for believing in him,  added, “To play in the FIFA World Cup will be a dream come true for me and is going to help my career as a player too.”

Echiejile  is confident the Eagles  will leave Levy Mwanawasa Stadium with   “a good result’.

 The 28-year-old 2013 Africa Cup of Nations winner  told supersport.com, “To be sincere it is not going to be easy.”