African football legend Nkwankwo Kanu in this interview with KickOff.com, talks about Super Eagles chances at the forthcoming World Cup in Brazil.

Kanu

We have the World Cup coming up, so what are Nigeria’s chances and the other African teams that will represent the continent?

Kanu: Luckily we are in a good group and if you ask me, I think it is the easiest group. (Nigeria are in Group F with Argentina, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Iran). I think our chances are  80% and if we can pass that group, and I know we are going to do that, then we will have more confidence.

I know immediately we pass that group, the Nigerian people are going to be behind the team from the president to ordinary people. Maybe we can go to the semi-finals, who knows? I think Africa has a good chance, because we also have Cote d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Ghana and Algeria. As for us, we have experienced players who are playing in some top Leagues so we can reach that level.

Nigeria could be seen as Africa’s biggest hope, do you agree?
Yes, because we don’t put our hopes on individual players. The strength of the team is unity and the spirit in the camp is very strong.

Also, having the ‘Big Boss’ (Stephen Keshi) is good for us, because the players listen to him and that is something very important. He pushes them to the limit and if you put those together, we are strong. We don’t rely on one man.

But having said that, aren’t there specific players that you feel will play a pivotal role for Nigeria?

Mikel Obi is a man who controls the team and coming from a big club Chelsea, all eyes will be on him. We also have Emmanuel Emenike, who I reckon wants to make his mark in the World Cup. He did that in the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations and I have no doubt he can do it on a world stage as well. We also have a very good goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama, who is one of the best goalkeepers in France.

As Africans, are we ever going to see one of our countries in the final of the World Cup?

The answer is yes, because I can tell you every year that passes the Leagues and managements in Africa are changing. Not that we are perfect, but we are improving as a continent. So I believe that the time will come when an African country will win the World Cup, but first and foremost, I think the target should be the semi-finals and take it from there.