Kelechi Nwakali has revealed inspiration from some of Nigeria greats like Nwankwo Kanu pushed him to take his place in the Super Eagles squad at the AFCON in Cameroon.
Nwakali was the MVP of the 2015 FIFA U17 World Cup in Chile ahead of teammates Victor Osimhen and Samuel Chukwueze, who have since established themselves in the Super Eagles.
Midfielder Nwakali has taken a lot longer to make his way to the Eagles and he said he has now done so partly due to the encouragement he received from some of the country’s top stars.
“Former players like Kanu, Obinna Nsofor and Emmanuel Amuneke, who was my coach (at U17 and U20 levels), told me that I am not there yet, but you will be there if you kept working hard and you keep believing in yourself,” he said.
“I was just patient, waiting for the time while working hard.”
Nwakali, who has captained both Nigeria U17s and U20s, was not in the original provisional squad submitted by Gernot Rohr, but caretaker coach Augustine Eguavoen drafted him when he took over the team.
