Nwankwo Kanu has said that the FA Cup triumph can help Nigeria duo Kelechi Iheanacho and Wilfred Ndidi to kick on and win more trophies at club and international level.
Both players made major contributions in Leicester City’s cup run, culminating in the triumphant scenes at Wembley after they edged Chelsea 1-0 to claim a first ever FA Cup title for the club and the duo themselves.
Kanu, who won the FA Cup with Arsenal (twice) and Portsmouth as well as Olympic gold with Nigeria, was thrilled for them.
“It is wonderful to see them as FA Cup champions,” the former Nigeria captain told ESPN. “They needed to go for it and they did. Congratulations to them, they did really well.
“This will now give them the belief that they can go and do more. When you win one, you want to win another and another one. At least you know that you have won the FA Cup. The next thing now is to look for more trophies and it gives them more confidence and more encouragement and the belief that they can do anything and win against anybody.”
Winning the FA Cup comes as something of a personal triumph for Iheanacho, who has endured really trying times since joining the Foxes from Manchester City in the summer of 2017.
Iheanacho has emerged from those dark days to become a starting fixture for Leicester and Kanu said the way he handled adversity is the mark of a great player.
“He has gone through some really bad times and I know what a lot of people have said about him when he was in those low periods,” he said. “But we know it is football. When you are not doing well, people talk anyhow and say what they want but when you start doing well, the same people come back.
“For me, I always know he is a good footballer. I always talk with him, encourage him, send him messages when he is doing well and when he is not doing well and telling him to keep his head up. The only thing was for him to work hard, Talent with hard work works. If you believe only on the talent, it will disappoint you so you have to marry the two together.
“It is something great that he is back now. Not only for himself but for the country. We need all our players to be in top form. Right now he is. If you mention the top strikers in the world now, Kelechi’s name will be there because he is scoring and that is what you need from strikers. What happened to him is a very big lesson, and the way he responded is what makes a great player. He didn’t talk too much, he just worked hard and see where he is now.”