Ighalo reveals how he almost quit playing for Nigeria after he and his family received death threats

macfranc007 October 17, 2018 Nigeria News today & Breaking news ▷ Read Naija news 24/7 Oluwatomiwa Babalola

- Ighalo scored twice to power Nigeria to 3-2 win over Libya in 2019 AFCON qualifiers

- His goals in the game took his tally to six goals in during this qualifiers

- He however reveals he almost quit playing for the national team after receiving death threats following poor outing at the World Cup in Russia

Changchun Yatai striker Odion Ighalo is delighted to help the Super Eagles beat Libya in their 209 African Cup of Nations qualifiers.

The former Watford forward scored five goals in two matches against the Mediterranean Knights as they beat the north Africans 7-2 on aggregate.

He scored hatrick in the first leg in Uyo and crowned it up with a brace inn Tunisia to push Gernot Rohr's side to the top of Group E.

"The team really worked hard, it is a good team performance and I am happy to score five goals in two games but it is an all-round performance and I am happy with the team performance.

"We are 99 per cent sealed the ticket to the Cup of Nations," he told KweséESPN in an exclusive interview in Sfax, Tunisia, where the second match was played.

The 29-year-old revealed he almost quit playing for the national team after failing to score at the FIFA World Cup in Russia.

He had a chance to propel the three time African kings to the Round of 16 at the tourney but failed to convert the chance.

After failing to convert the chance, he heavily criticised and was threatened by loads of Nigerians.

"I know the fans want me to score goals. I understand them," the China-based striker said. "But some of them took it to another level.

"They said a lot of things. To my innocent kids, to my wife, even to the extent they threatened my life and the life of my family."

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Despite trying to remain above it all and not respond to critics, he was deeply hurt by the attacks on his family, especially his children.

"I felt very bad [when they went after my family]. I had to talk to my wife because she could not take it.

"Some words they said about my kids, about me. Some words they said to her, threatening and all that. That is beyond football.

"You know women and how they react when you talk about their children. But I never said a word to nobody and I never replied anybody."

Ighalo has since disabled comments on his Instagram account, where he is still active, and rarely appears in front of the media. And he has no intention of changing that decision anytime soon.

NAIJ.com earlier reported that Odion Ighalo's brace powered Nigeria to a 3-2 win over Libya in Sfax, Tunisia on Tuesday, October 6.

The Changchun Yatai striker opened scoring in the 14th minute and three minutes later, Ahmed Musa doubled his side's lead.

A goal each from Mohamed Zubya and Ahmad Benali restored parity for the hosts in the game before the former Watford star powered the west African side to victory.

Nigeria have now moved to the summit of the table with nine points after four matches ahead of their return leg against South Africa.

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