Leicester City of England midfielder, Wilfred Onyinyen Ndidi says he is sad that Ghana failed to qualify among the countries that will compete at next year’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.
A 1-1 draw away to Angola on Thursday was not enough to knick a ticket for The Black Stars, and Nigeria’s fellow-Anglophone West African neighbours will not have a chance of adding to the four continental titles they won in the past.
Sports247.ng reports that, in contrast with Ghana’s woes, Nigeria sealed their qualification on the same day away from home in Abidjan, but Ndidi reckoned that it would be unbecoming to mock the sorrow of their eternal rivals.
Ndidi affirmed, “It’s so sad that Ghana could not qualify. I wanted them to qualify, because there’s this healthy beef between us and the Ghanaians.
“For them not qualifying, the banter will not be there, though we are not in the same group.
“I have a couple of colleagues who play in the Ghanaian national team. So, I feel bad for them; but it’s football.
“You can’t be happy that they could not qualify. We can only be happy that we qualified, but we cannot abuse the other guys for not doing it like us.”
The former Nath Boys of Lagos and Racing Genk of Belgium midfield enforcer then spoke about Nigeria’s top quality players, who made the Super Eagles’ qualification possible with two matches to spare.
“We’ve got quality players and humble players.
“Even the new guys that are coming in, they just blend with us easily; because there’s no caucus, clique or any division in the team.
“Everyone goes in the same direction; where we are meant to go.
“That’s one outstanding thing about this team. Everybody just blends in easily,” Ndidi disclosed.
He concluded by pointing out that the nominations of Ademola Lookman and William Troost-Ekong for this year’s African Footballer of The Year award, while Victor Osimhen won the last one, indicate the current quality of Nigeria’s players.
“I remember some years back, when we were struggling to see Nigerian players nominated. But now is our era and we should enjoy it.
“We are still young and, moving forward, there are still more opportunities for us to be up there. It’s an amazing achievement and a proud moment for us,” Ndidi submitted.
