'We are here to win' - Super Eagles midfielder desperate ahead of Unity Cup final

Marseille midfielder Tochukwu Nnadi has expressed his immense delight after helping Nigeria secure a 2-0 victory over Zimbabwe in the Unity Cup semi-final, while quickly shifting his focus to Saturday's blockbuster final against Jamaica.

The 22-year-old delivered an assured and composed performance in London to help the reigning champions book their spot in the showpiece event.

Nnadi earned his first senior start for the Super Eagles at The Valley, anchoring the midfield flawlessly as Millwall forward Femi Azeez stole the headlines with a brilliant debut brace.

Reflecting on the victory, Nnadi remained modest about his individual display, prioritising the collective success of Eric Chelle's rotated squad.

"It was a great game. I don't know if I had a fantastic performance, but I think the team did quite good," Nnadi told the Super Eagles' media team. "We won 2-0, so we are happy and we're waiting for the next game."

The young midfielder also highlighted how impressively the newly assembled, experimental squad managed to gel, despite having only three training sessions to prepare before the tournament kicked off.

"It's difficult, but we try to understand each other as quick as we can because I think in high-level football it doesn't matter where the guys are coming from, but we all just have to be a team and work together," he explained.

"The first training was hard but I think second day, third day we got to understand each other and you can see in the game yesterday we had a great connection."

With a highly anticipated final against the Reggae Boyz locked in after Jamaica mirrored Nigeria's path with a 2-0 win over India, Nnadi laid down the gauntlet.

He made it clear that the squad is entirely focused on retaining their title before shifting their attention to upcoming international friendlies against Poland and Portugal in June.

Driven by the heartbreak of the last Africa Cup of Nations, where Nigeria fell just short of the ultimate prize in the final, Nnadi emphasised that this new generation is desperate to establish a ruthless winning culture.

"We are here to win the Unity Cup. First we get the job done here and then we'll see what happen in Poland and in Portugal," Nnadi asserted. "But I think this time we have to win everything. So when the time comes we will fight.

“Last AFCON we had a great competition but in the end we didn't win, so this time we have to fight and see if we can win the AFCON and hopefully win more trophies for the Nigerian national team." The grand finale between the two rivals takes place this Saturday, May 30, 2026, back at The Valley.