Although Alex Iwobi scored the crucial goal that gave Nigeria a 1-0 win over Zambia, and earned them a spot at next year World Cup , coach of the team Gernot Rohr has revealed the man who deserves praise.
Captain John Obi Mikel and star forward Victor Moses have all been influential for the team in during the qualifiers, but the coach singled out goalkeeper Carl Ikeme for special praises.
Ikeme is presently suffering from Leukaemia, a terminal illness but Rohr is still hopeful he will pull through it and be a part of the team in Russia.
“In Zambia a year ago, it was one man who saved us, our goalkeeper – Carl Ikeme. He brought us on the right way. We called him last night, he spoke to the team before the match and we promised to do it for him.
“ We did it for Ikeme. That’s why I am really, really happy and we wish he will come with us to Russia next year”, Rohr said at the post match briefing.
Maxwell Pius
