After posting a 12-0 win over a UAE side during a training game in Abu Dhabi, Super Eagles players Alex Iwobi and Ademola Lookman are optimistic that Nigeria can compete and win the 2024 African Cup of Nations starting January 13 in Cote d’Ivoire.
The Super Eagles are rated sixth in the continent and based on their uninspiring displays recently, they are not booked as one of the favorites to land the title, But according to Iwobi the team is all out to surprise many of their doubters and with their fourth AFCON title.
“Everyone is almost here and the squad is almost complete. We are training and the preparation is going on fine,” Iwobi told NFF TV
“The fans know the ability and the quality we have in the team. Even beyond the quality we have in the squad, Nigeria is blessed with so much talent and this we can also get in those that didn’t make the team.
“We have the confidence that we can go far in this competition but we have to prove it to ourselves. What I can assure Nigerians is that we are going to give our 100 percent and we shall make the nation proud.”
Lookman, who scored four goals in the training match added:
“Just like the rest of my teammates, we are already prepared and we have the mindset that we want to give it our all and fight looking forward to the big thing in Ivory Coast.
“We have got a strong mindset together and we are fired up to do that again. As a team we are together and are behind each other and as individuals we believe in ourselves too.”
The Super Eagles will open their account against Equatorial Guinea on January 14, in the tricky group A they are expected to emerge from alongside hosts Cote d’Ivoire. Coach Jose Peseiro needs to convince Nigerian fans he can take the team with a good start.
At the last tournament in Cameroon the Super Eagles made a good start winning all their group matches, but succumbed unceremoniously to Tunisia in the round of 16, the worst performance by the team in recent times.
