Only Osimhen knows what the World Cup means to Nigerians - Amokachi

Former Super Eagles striker Daniel Amokachi has singled out Napoli striker Victor Osimhen for his spirited performances for the Nigerian national team.

The 49-year-old Atlanta '96 star credits Osimhen's upbringing in Nigeria for the Napoli star's dedication and fighting spirit when playing for the Super Eagles.

Osimhen put in passionate performances across both legs of the recent World Cup Qualifiers against the Black Stars of Ghana.

While speaking with SuperSport, Amokachi said that Osimhen's humble upbringing of being a street hawker on the famous Third Mainland Bridge influences how the Napoli striker plays for Nigeria.

Amokachi noted that football in Nigeria and Africa is more than just a sport but also a religion.

Amokachi said: "Football in Nigeria and Africa is a religion. If we don’t have a player like Osimhen who hawked pure water on the Third Mainland bridge, you can see that’s the way he plays.

"He knows what it takes to play for Nigeria. That’s why he’s running 24/7 to make us win.

Amokachi suggested that foreign-born players in the Super Eagles do not fully understand what it means to play for the national team. 

The former Enyimba coach referred to the second leg of the World Cup Qualifiers at the Moshood Abiola Stadium, stating that some of the foreign-bred players have not even played in front of over 60,000 Nigerians fans.

“And then you have players who grew up outside the shores of Nigeria that don’t know what it takes to wear the national colours in the World Cup, it is different," Amokachi continued.

“Several of the players have not been to the World Cup, they don’t know what it is. 99 percent of those players haven’t even felt the Nigerian stadium filled up like the way it was filled up.”

Osimhen was a nuisance to the Ghanaian defence in the second leg of their qualifier at the Moshood Abiola Stadium, having several shots on goal including a goal that was ruled out for Offside.

The 23-year-old striker was Nigeria's top scorer in the Qatar 2022 World Cup Qualifiers with four (4) goals.

Osimhen recently won the Serie A Player of the Month Award for March after his four (4) goals in two (2) matches helped Napoli pick up consecutive victories over Hellas Verona and Udinese.