Niger coach Ezzaki Badou says from the onset, his team had belief that they had all it took to compete against the likes of Zambia and Morocco when the draws of the 2026 World Cup qualifier were made.
Considered outsiders when the draw was made, Niger have written for themselves a unique story, finishing second in Group decorated by a double over Zambia.
Now, the Menas are strong contenders to make it into the play-off positions when the qualifiers are fully over.
“In the qualifiers of the Africa Cup 2025, Niger showed that the team is coming, we beat Sudan 4 – 0, we beat Ghana in Ghana 2 – 1 and assured all the people that this is not the Niger that people thought before,” he said.
Badou reminded reporters of the belief that has been in this team for some time now.
He warned teams against underrating opponents because “now football is changing, there is no easy team in Africa.”
He said his side has always had the belief that they can compete against the likes of Zambia.
“Even when we were in the group of Morocco…we took our chances. We should believe to [having fought] fight with Tanzania, Morocco and Zambia in that group and we did well,” Badou said.
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