Nigerian international Kelechi Iheanacho scored for Leicester City in their 2-1 home defeat in the FA Cup fifth-round against Blackburn Rovers to set a new goal record in the competition but the forward is unhappy the Foxes were ousted by the championship side.
The goal extended his tally to 18 goals in 24 FA Cup games for both former club Manchester City and Leicester – making him the most prolific player in the competition at the moment.
Reacting to his goal, Iheanacho told Leicester City’s official website, “It was a good ball from Barnsey (Harvey Barnes), on the flank, taking it well and working the man, cutting it back.
“It was the right cross at the right time. Hopefully, there’s more to come, but we’re out of the competition now.”
But the Nigerian striker admitted he was disappointed by the exit of the Foxes.
Iheanacho reacts to Leicester's FA Cup exit
“It’s a tough one to take. As I said, we need to do more, to stay in the league and get up there.”
“I am so disappointed, I don’t even have the words now especially because we were at home,” Iheanacho told LCTV.
“We did our bit but it was not enough. If you don’t do what you have to do, you get punished. We just have to look forward to the Premier League and do better.”
The 26-year-old came off the bench to score but his goal was not enough to help the Foxes avoid an exit from the tournament, but it puts Iheanacho above current players in the FA Cup.
Iheanacho’s 18th goal has only been bettered or matched by 11 players, all of whom are no longer playing professional football following their retirement.
Tottenham striker Harry Kane is the closest of the active footballers to Iheanacho with 17 goals in 26 games all scored for Tottenham.
Nigeria’s U-20 national team, the Flying Eagles, will on Thursday (today) face the Hippos of Uganda in the quarter-finals of the ongoing CAF U-20 AFCON in Egypt.
Aside from progressing to the semi-finals of the competition, the winners of the clash will also secure a spot at the 2023 U-20 World Cup, which will take place in Indonesia between May 20 and June 11.
Having made it out of the group stage in a bumpy manner, the Flying Eagles have set the World Cup place as their primary objective at the tournament, which they last won in 2015.
Their opponents, Uganda, will head into the game high on confidence after finishing top of Group A thanks to two draws against Congo and Sudan, a win over the Central African Republic and the luck of drawn lots.
U20AFCON: Nigeria to battle Uganda for World Cup ticket
Uganda only made their debut appearance at the U-20 AFCON in the last edition, but they shocked all, including themselves, as they surmounted all obstacles to reach the final but eventually settled for second place as they were beaten by Ghana in the final.
Flying Eagles coach, Ladan Bosso, said his side will begin to eye the trophy as soon as the World Cup ticket is secured.
“We are aware that Nigerians are looking up to us to deliver. While our mission remains to bag the World Cup ticket, we are also eyeing the trophy, which is still a number of matches away. For the moment, we have Uganda in our view and we are working hard to see that we control proceedings on Thursday.”
Both sides will trade tackle at the 22,000-capacity Suez Canal Authority Stadium in Ismailia, Egypt at 6pm Nigerian time.
This article was most recently revised and updated 2 years ago
