Super Eagles forward Ademola Lookman has expressed his determination ahead of Nigeria’s crucial 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Rwanda on Friday stating that the team must fight to win the encounter.
Nigeria currently sits in fifth position in Group C of the African World Cup qualifiers with just three points, trailing leaders Rwanda, who have amassed 14 points.
The Super Eagles have drawn three and lost one of their opening four matches, making Friday’s game a must-win encounter.
“The team is looking forward to Friday’s game, the first game,” Lookman told The NFF media.
“Looking to go out there and to work hard and to impose ourselves on the game. Rwanda is a good team, we know about their quality.
“At the end of the day, we need to be focused on ourselves and try to bring the game to them. And to fight to get the win.”
He also spoke about his recent African Footballer of the Year award, which he won last December.
“It’s a blessing, it’s a pleasure. It’s an honour, most definitely an honour,” Lookman said.
“The people who have won the award, like my teammate, my brother Osimhen, last year.
To be able to be crowned this, it’s a blessing. It’s something that I hold with great honour and great respect and hold it deeply.”
Lookman has been in outstanding form this season for Atalanta.
He recently scored twice in Atalanta’s emphatic 5-0 victory over Empoli and was instrumental in their 4-0 win against Juventus.
His consistent performances have made him one of the standout Nigerian players in Europe.
“Everybody knows the level of players that we have here. It’s an incredible group of players,” he said about the Super Eagles squad.
“Most importantly, everybody is a good person here. Everybody has the same objective, to try to win and to want to win. That’s very important.”
The Super Eagles have been intensifying their preparations for the game, with Lookman emphasizing the importance of their training sessions.
“The group is very together, very tight-knitted. That’s a winning formula. Everybody is positive,” he noted. “We’ve had two good training sessions yesterday and obviously today.
“Training has been more intense. As a team, we’re looking forward to Friday’s game and looking forward to putting on a great performance.”
Nigeria will aim to turn their campaign around with a strong performance against Rwanda, knowing that anything short of victory could put their World Cup hopes in serious jeopardy.
