Leicester City striker Kelechi Iheanacho has enthused about the prospect of wooing over Nigerian fans for the Foxes despite the huge followership that Chelsea commands after beating them to the FA Cup
The Nigeria striker’s 10th effort in his last seven appearances in all competitions sent City into their first FA Cup Final since 1969, marking a memorable day in the capital for Brendan Rodgers’ men.
Having also scored decisive goals against Brighton & Hove Albion and Manchester United, Iheanacho spoke of his elation after helping his outfit through.
“It’s really amazing, it’s a dream come true,” he told LCFC TV. “I didn’t know it’s going to come like this, but we are in the final now so we are really happy.
“We need to get back and work hard and focus in our next game. Hopefully, in the final, we’ll really work hard so that we win.”
Iheanacho’s winner came after some fine work from strike partner Jamie Vardy, who raced down the left and squared to Leicester No.14 to fire home at the second attempt.
“It’s a beautiful goal,” he continued. “As I said before, the partnership between me and Vards (Jamie Vardy), it’s outstanding. His running off the ball, it’s really good.
“He took the defenders on and he cut it back. I was unlucky with the first shot. It bounced off the defender and came back to me, and I picked the corner. I’m really happy we did it together as a team.”
Iheanacho has attracted plenty of support since his move to King Power Stadium, and much of that has come from his homeland of Nigeria, where he is immensely popular.
He added: “Probably half of Nigeria is watching the game today! They will be really happy and pleased that we’ve got to the final.
“Chelsea have a lot of fans in Nigeria, and they love me as a player, so it’ll be half and half supporting us in Nigeria in the final! Hopefully, we win in the final!”
Meanwhile, Coach Brendan Rodgers believes Iheanacho is growing in confidence with every goal he scored for Leicester City.
“He’ll play better in the game,” Rodgers said. “His touch got away from him too many times. Maybe before that would have happened, it would have affected his confidence, but now, he’s at a level where he allows those mistakes to go.
“Now, he can just get on his game, and what he’s shown is that outside the box and inside the box, he’s there to score goals. Kel and Jamie Vardy, the combination, was a real, real threat. They were both exceptional for us,” he added.
