Kelechi Iheanacho And Isaac Success To Play Big Role In New Zealand, Says Lawal

Former Nigeria midfielder Garba Lawal has disclosed that youngsters Kelechi Iheanacho and Isaac Success will play a big role in the Flying Eagles outing at the 2015 Fifa U20 World Cup in New Zealand.

The duo were not part of the team’s victorious outing at the African Youth Championship in Senegal and with Manu Garba’s side paired against five-time champions Brazil, Hungary and Korea DPR, the former Levski Sofia midfielder feels they are needed to fortify the squad.

“[Iheanacho and Success] have been in this squad since the Golden Eaglets days, so I think they will be a good addition to the squad despite missing the AYC,” Lawal told Goal.

“In football, you need everybody. Sometimes, you have cases of injuries and you need to make a good substitution. So I don’t think it will be a bad idea taking them to New Zealand whether they are starters or not.”

The U20 World Cup title has eluded Nigeria since inception with the Flying Eagles losing in the final of 1989 (Saudi Arabia) and 2005 (Netherlands) editions as Lawal insists the team must be at their best to break the jinx.

“The U20 team have been doing great including coach Manu Garba and his crew. These are young lads that are eager to win trophies and achieve something,” he continued.

“We can only hope they continue in that stead and they should be reminded that the U20 World Cup is a different ball game entirely from the African Youth Championship.

“If they want to go far at the World Cup, they must win every games as they come and must give full concentration but with the caliber of players in the Flying Eagles squad, I am sure they will give a good account of themselves,” he continued.

Nigeria’s first game will be against Brazil at the Stadium Taranaki, New Plymouth on June 1, 2015.

-Thanks to goal.com for permission to republish this article

Photo Credit : fifa.com