Brighton’s defender Leon Aderemi Balogun has stated that he nurses the dream of being an integral part of Nigeria’s team at the next FIFA World Cup in 2022, which is to be hosted by Qatar, Owngoalnigeria reports.
The Germany-born defender who is currently on loan at Wigan Athletic admitted that although he lost his spot too quickly in the team, he would fight to reclaim his stake in the Super Eagles.
“I would like to be part of another world cup, not just to be there as the experience guy who pushes the group but I want to be involved on the pitch”, he said.
Leon Balogun will be 34 years old when the next world cup is held in 2022 and he remarked that he still feels his body is in a good shape physically and he would be ready. “I think I am in quite good shape and I still will be then but let’s see”, he posited.
With a lot of young players breaking out and how much of a threat they are in the national team setup, Leon said “Let’s see what other players come out until then, at the same time I still have to fight for my spot back. I still have to reclaim it, even though I feel like I lost it a bit too quick if you look at the past five years but anyways it’s just football”.
Nigeria was drawn bye in the first qualification round but will now need to navigate through competitions from Cape Verde, Liberia and the Central African Republic in the second round. The top team after a round-robin will qualify for the third and final route to Qatar 2022.
Godwin N
