Neither at Sevilla FC, nor in Nigeria. Kelechi Iheanacho has not yet made a start this season, having played only a few minutes in the shirt of the club he joined last summer, and in addition to this, in his first match as a starter in five months with his national team he was not at all lucky.
The Sevilla striker started the game against Benin. A draw would have helped Nigeria qualify for the African Cup of Nations, but Iheanacho was unable to do anything and Augustine Eguavoen had no choice but to replace him at half-time for Moses Simon. In the days that followed, criticism of his performance increased and his continued presence in the national team is now seriously in doubt . However, this Monday against Rwanda he started again, being replaced again at half-time, this time by Samu Chukwueze.
Now, Iheanacho has expressed his point of view in an interview with the official media of the Nigerian Football Association, in which he admits that he is far from being in the best moment of his career. “ In general, football is not easy . Probably everyone will say that it is easy. Maybe they think that because everything is related to football. Obviously, the way we play makes it look easy. But it is not, because there is a lot of hard work to do, both in training and in matches,” said the Sevilla player.
That’s when he realises that it’s tough to find himself in that situation. ” When you’re not at your best, at your peak, then it looks very tough . And that’s when people think it’s a difficult match, and in part it is.”
Iheanacho, however, says he is looking forward to playing another African Cup of Nations with Nigeria and, why not, lifting the title once again. “We faced Benin and managed to qualify. But they are really difficult games and we still have one to play – against Rwanda. We are happy with the way we performed and managed to qualify. I hope we get the chance to play another African Cup of Nations and reach the final to win it . It takes a lot of hard work and dedication because there are other teams who want to qualify and go to Morocco next year. It was very difficult, but the team has a lot of qualities and everything went in our favour.”
