One reason every team at the World Cup can win
By Ty Finch
Nigeria: Young, exciting talent
Every four years, there’s a young, talented player on an up-and-coming roster or smaller country that breaks out, dominates the competition and increases his price tag for the transfer window by tens of millions. When this World Cup comes around in the summer, it would be a safe bet one of those young talents plays for Nigeria.
Most of the fresher faces for Nigeria are already key components for their club teams, but haven’t hit the national stage or world-class conversation. Wilfred Ndidi is 21 years old and playing in his first World Cup, but is a regular starter with Leicester in the Premier League. Ndidi is a central midfielder who loves to win aerial duels and never pulls out of a tackle. His propensity for being wherever the ball is will make him easy to spot and garner interest from the bigger clubs in Europe.
Nigeria have two attacking players that could also play a massive role in their World Cup dreams: Kelechi Iheanacho and Alex Iwobi. Iheanacho is teammates with Ndidi at Leicester and has found it tough to get into the side on a regular basis due to Jamie Vardy’s presence, but proved his talent with Manchester City the two years prior. The 21-year-old scored four and assisted three others in just 15 appearances in 2016-17, and bagged eight in 19 appearances the year before.
Iwobi is another 21-year-old that makes regular appearances for Arsenal. He mainly plays as a central attacking midfielder, but is malleable enough to play anywhere in the midfield or on the wings. His passing and close control makes him a valuable asset for the national team.
Nigera are bound to have a few hiccups here or there due to their relatively young squad, but it also could all culminate into something magical. That’s what they’re banking on if they want to win it all.