Nigeria vs South Africa: Why 'hustler' Osimhen will be missed - Ndidi reveals

Super Eagles midfielder, Wilfred Ndidi says the team will miss star forward Victor Osimhen in their next qualifying fixtures.

He commented in an interview with The Punch on Wednesday, May 29 ahead of the team's upcoming 2026 World Cup qualifiers against South Africa and Benin.

He noted that despite having a pool of strikers who are equally talented and have a lot to offer, the Napoli striker drives the team forward.

Wilfred Ndidi, who will play in the English Premier League next season after Leicester City regained promotion to the top flight also described the 26-year-old as a "hustler" and a "street footballer".

"Victor Osimhen is a great footballer, I call him hustler, he’s like a street footballer, and he is always hustling. As a defender you never relax when you are playing against Victor. So, I think it’s going to impact the team because he drives the team forward," he said.

"We have so many strikers, who with their own styles can also bring different dynamics to the team, so, I just feel like we’ll miss him but this isn’t the time to start thinking, this is the time to act and try to win the games. I wish him swift recovery and when he comes back, he‘ll always be part of the team."

Meanwhile, South Africa head coach Hugo Broos has named a strong team that will face Nigeria and Zimbabwe.

Broos initially named a 36-man squad for the crucial encounters on May 15 but has trimmed the squad down to 23 players.

Ronwen Williams, Themba Zwane, Percy Tau, Teboho Mokoena, and Khuliso Mudau are familiar faces who made the cut, as per revealed by Bafana Bafana official X handle on Thursday, May 30.

Bafana Bafana will clash with the Super Eagles on Friday, June 7, at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo.

Currently, Bafana Bafana sits in second place in Group C with three points after two games. Nigeria has managed two points with the same number of games.

Rwanda leads the group with four points.