By James Agberebi:

Super Eagles midfielder Wilfred Ndidi has said that he is eagerly looking forward to featuring at his first ever FIFA World Cup in Russia in 2018.

The Super Eagles became the first African country to qualify for next year’s FIFA World Cup following their 1-0 win against African qualifying Group B opponent Chipolopolo of Zambia in Uyo last Saturday.

The win took the Eagles to an unassailable 13 points, while Zambia remain second on seven points. Cameroon and have six and one points respectively.

Reflecting on the qualification, Ndidi who has played in all five of the Eagles’ matches in the qualifying series, expressed delight that the team was able to make amends for failing to qualify for back-to-back Africa Cup of Nations.

“It means a lot,” the midfielder told Leicester City TV. “I feel great and I feel very happy about it. Everyone is happy because we didn’t play at the Africa Cup of Nations, so everyone is happy to see the team going to the World Cup.

“I feel great about it and it’s not just being part of the team, but for the country as a whole, it’s very nice.

“For me, I feel every player wants to play at the World Cup, so until I get there, I won’t know what it feels like, but for now, I just can’t wait.”

The 20-year-old who arrived back at Belvoir Drive earlier this week ahead of Monday night’s Premier League home clash against West Brom, wants his side to focus on climbing the table, starting with the encounter against Tony Pulis’ men.

“The game against West Brom, I’m looking forward to it,” Ndidi added. “It will be a good game because we really need the three points, not just a point. We need to do everything we need to do to get the points.

“Every team wants to win. We will take everything as it comes. Not just their name and where they are in the league. The main thing is about us – we will just focus on ourselves.

“I feel this is the time to take our opportunity, with the fans around – the atmosphere will be brilliant. It’s an opportunity for us to get as many points as we can and we’ll see where we can be in the table.”

Leicester are currently 17th on five points in the league table.

And on his readiness for the game after coming off with a slight knock against Zambia, Ndidi said: “I feel sharp and I feel relaxed and I’m okay. I’m good to go. I just try to do my thing – this is what I have to do and I just want to do it.

“So many people want this opportunity and they don’t get it. For me, I see this as an opportunity to play and I just want to play.”