Nigeria Vs South Africa: Wilfred Ndidi Admits Super Eagles Are Under Pressure

Leicester City midfielder, Wilfred Ndidi, has admitted that the Super Eagles of Nigeria are under pressure to beat South Africa on June 7.

Wilfred Ndidi, who is part of the Super Eagles squad that will execute the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against South Africa, noted that if Nigeria didn’t draw their first two games in the qualification series, the pressure wouldn’t have been on the Eagles.

Recall that the Super Eagles started their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers on a very low note as they recorded a 1-1 draw against Lesotho and Zimbabwe respectively.

The draws left the Super Eagles in the third spot on the league table with two points, a point behind second-placed South Africa, and two points behind first-placed Rwanda.

This means that Nigeria must beat South Africa when they clash in Uyo from 8 p.m. on Friday.

Wilfred Ndidi, who is already in Nigeria ahead of the must-win game, told Punch that he and his teammates know what to do to get the win.

“If we are honest to ourselves, I think the team is under pressure (to win). We drew both games, they were difficult games. If we had won both games, it would have been much better going to these ones”, the midfielder said.

“All the same its football and I think the pressure that comes with this one is actually exciting because we know what we have to do, we know we have to try and win. So, I think we just need to stay focused and do our best and then try to win the games.”

On his assessment of the Bafana Bafana, Wilfred Ndidi said: “I’ll say they are a good team. When they played against us at the last AFCON they showed they were a very good team and gave us a fight before we beat them on penalties.

“I feel the AFCON is in the past now, so we are not looking towards that direction anymore. A team you play at the AFCON might be a very different team when you are playing against them now. It all depends on us as a team and the way we want to approach the game. So, it doesn’t matter who we are playing, it all depends on us and how we approach the game.”