Speaking at a session for young footballers in Lagos, the former Monaco and Borrussia Dortmund forward said, “All that we can hope for is to get to the quarter-finals…”

“We cannot, every world cup, get into the next round…”, he continued, “I think we’ve passed that stage”.

The Super Eagles have never gone beyond the second round of the World Cup, even failing to qualify in 2006 and 2014.

Ikpeba believes that with a stable head coach and the support of the NFF, the present crop of players are good enough to make it further than their predecessors did in 1998 and 2010.

“In qualifying from a very tough group, expectations will be high. The NFF have done well, no problem with the issue of bonuses. It’s now for the players to deliver.”, he continued.

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The Eagles, under the guidance of coach Gernot Rohr, have already made their intent clear with a 4–2 win over the Albiceleste of Argentina at the FK Krasnodar Stadium on the 14th of November.

Arsenal forward, Alex Iwobi impresed in that game and is seen as one to watch in Russia. Nigerians are also excited to see what new players like Henry Onyekuru, Bryan Idowu, and Francis Duru, who made their debuts, will bring to table if they make the cut.

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“A quarter final for this set of players, Nigerians will be very proud of them”, Ikpeba said.”

The Eagles will be looking forward to the 2018 World cup draw slated for Friday. Nigeria is seeded in a pool that will see them play against some of the world’s best teams, and making it to the quarter-finals will be highly commendable.

In recognition of his performance since taking charge in August 2016, Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr has also been given a 2-year extension on his contract, which extends his stay to 2020.