No African nation has won the World Cup, but Nigeria’s Alex Iwobi isn’t letting that hold him back.
The 22-year-old Arsenal forward will play on football’s biggest stage for the first time after helping the Super Eagles top their qualifying group for Russia 2018.
“The way we qualified in the group made us very confident,” Iwobi tells CNN Sport.
“We’ve played against some big teams, some big countries, so we are very confident that we can go far.”
Iwobi was twice on the scoresheet as Nigeria defeated Argentina 4-2 in a friendly last year. The two sides will meet again at the World Cup, which runs from June 14 to July 15, in a group which also contains Iceland and Croatia.
Although the Super Eagles have never progressed past the last 16, Iwobi says winning the upcoming tournament is something he has discussed with his teammates.
“Of course, we’ve mentioned it and talked about it so many times in training, on the coach, in the hotel room,” says Iwobi.
“But we will take it step by step. Our coach always reminds us that we’re not there yet. We need to prepare right. We’ve done well to get this far, so just be relaxed, be cool and wait for when the times comes.