Former Super Eagles international Victor Ikpeba has revealed that the team can cope without striker Victor Osimhen ahead of their clash with South Africa on Tuesday.
The Galatasaray striker did not travel with the Nigerian squad to face Bafana Bafana in the crucial qualifying clash in Bloemfontein, after suffering an injury in last Saturday’s victory over Rwanda.
Osimhen suffered a clash with a Rwanda defender inside the first half hour of the match and struggled with his movement afterwards.
He could not continue the match and limped off in the 35th minute, with Cyriel Dessers coming on as his replacement.
Tolu Arokodare came on at the interval and netted the only goal of the encounter at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, as Nigeria recorded their second win of the qualifiers.
The Super Eagles must now navigate a tough trip to South Africa, where they must secure maximum points to keep in touch with the group C leaders.
Bafana Bafana top the group with 16 points, with Benin Republic in second place on 11 points while Nigeria are third with 10 points ahead of the final three rounds of qualifying.
What Ikpeba said about the Super Eagles team
“We can cope without Victor because we have guys such as Ademola Lookman, Alex Iwobi, Frank Onyeka, Moses Simon, Samuel Chukwueze and Wilfred Ndidi — this is a strong team”, the ex-Nigerian international said.
“The difference is Bafana players have heart and that is what we need from our boys because that’s what has been lacking. He is a huge player for the Super Eagles but we can cope without him.”
“If you look at our squad list, we have so much potential. I don’t think some of the big footballing nations on the continent have what we have. We have some of the best players on the continent but we have not been able to get the best out of these players”, Ikpeba continued.
“The boys have not been able to deliver and that shows the difficulty of coming back from Europe to play on the continent. They know what is expected of them back home and they just have to deliver.”
