Don’t dash Nigerians’ hopes, Emenike tells Eagles

Emmanuel Emenike believes the Super Eagles have given Nigerians the reason to believe in their 2026 World Cup ambitions again with the ex-international charging his former teammates not to let the fans down, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

The Eagles revived their 2026 World Cup qualifiers last Friday with a 2-0 win over Rwanda in Kigali.

Galatasaray striker Victor Osimhen delivered a brace to boost the team’s hope and also hand coach Eric Chelle a win in his first game in charge.

Without a win in their first four games of the series, Nigeria languished in fifth place in the six-team group C and remained in a perilous situation, until Friday’s robust win over Rwanda in Kigali put them in a position for the ticket to the finals.

Emenike, who called time on his international career in 2015 at the age of 28, was impressed by the team’s performance and charged them to keep up the winning mentality in their next game against Zimbabwe on Tuesday (today).

“From the games we played in the qualifiers, Rwanda was different,” Emenike told journalists in Lagos.

“They should keep up the game. They know how it is, and right now everybody’s hopes are high, so they need to keep that up as we expect to beat Zimbabwe on Tuesday.”

Thanks to Friday’s win, Nigeria moved just a spot in the table, occupying the fourth position with six points after five matches. The Super Eagles are still behind Rwanda (third with seven points) as well as the Benin Republic (second with eight points).

South Africa lead the African qualifying Group C with 10 points following their 2-0 win over Lesotho on Friday.

Chelle and his team have been working on closing the gap on the Bafana Bafana, as the Franco-Malian coach demanded full concentration from the players, banning visitors and journalists alike from their camp.

A win for Nigeria against Zimbabwe will take Chelle’s men to nine points in the group and their position would be determined by the results of other group games between the Benin Republic and South Africa, as well as Rwanda’s tie against Lesotho.