The Super Eagles of Nigeria will begin their chase for a fourth Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title with a crucial encounter against Equatorial Guinea at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Ivory Coast on Sunday.
Both sides have been drawn in Group A, alongside Guinea-Bissau and host nation Ivory Coast, and Nigeria will aim to start the tournament on a winning note.
Ahead of Sunday’s encounter, the Super Eagles squad have been hit with several injury crises especially in the attacking role forcing Victor Boniface, Wilfred Ndidi, and Sodiq Umar to be ruled out of the tournament.
This means that Jose Peseiro will be banking on Victor Osimhen as the most prolific and informed striker to lead Nigeria’s attack against the Nzalang Nacional on Sunday evening.
Osimhen remains Nigeria’s undoubted best player heading into this tournament, and the current African Footballer of the Year, who ended as the top scorer in qualifiers with 10 goals, will play a pivotal role in Super Eagles’ quest to succeed in Ivory Coast.
Nigeria wrapped up their AFCON preparation last Monday with a disappointing 2-0 defeat against Guinea in a friendly match in the United Arab Emirates.
Before that, Peseiro’s men were on a seven-game unbeaten run, picking up four wins and three draws, including successive stalemates against Lesotho and Zimbabwe in their first two games of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
The Super Eagles, who are ranked 42nd in the latest FIFA World Rankings, will look to begin their quest for a fourth AFCON crown on a positive mode.
Speaking in a pre-match conference on Saturday, Super Eagles captain Ahmed Musa said the team have their eyes on the three points and have no apologies for their aspiration.
“It is always interesting to play in the Africa Cup of Nations. I was a champion in 2013, same as (defender Kenneth) Omeruo,” Musa said.
“However, the rest of the team wants to have that feeling of what it means to win the Africa Cup of Nations. Everyone is geared towards making a statement.
“It is not going to be a picnic. The teams in our group, including Equatorial Guinea that we play tomorrow, are strong and ambitious as well. It is for us to go all out for the three points in each of our games, and then take it from there in the knock-out rounds. We will take it one match at a time.
“We are ready. This is a group that loves to compete, and we will give this match, and this competition generally, our very best.”
Nigeria’s campaign is woven around the aphoristic ‘Let’s Do It Again’ mantra, which was launched moments after they qualified for the finals, and is designed to motivate the team to repeat the triumphs of 1980, 1994 and 2013, and also mobilise Nigerians to support the Super Eagles.
Equatorial Guinea, meanwhile, are playing in only their second AFCON tournament in which they have made it through qualifying rather than as hosts (their fourth tournament overall, having hosted twice – in 2012 and 2015).
They qualified for AFCON 2023 as runners-up in their group, beaten to the top spot by Tunisia only on goal difference. They finished the group with 13 points from six matches, with their only defeat a 4-0 loss to Tunisia.
Nigeria are confident heading into the group opener as they boast of a more experienced squad.
