AFCON 2023: Nigerians speak ahead Super Eagles opener against Equatorial Guinea
Fans of the Super Eagles have expressed mixed feelings as Nigeria gears up for the opening 2023 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) game against Equatorial Guinea at the Allasane Ouatara Olympic Stadium on Sunday.
Speaking to Peoples Gazette, Tobi, who came from France for the tournament, said he was expecting nothing less than a win for Nigeria as that is the bare minimum they need to do to advance to the next stage of the competition.
“I am expecting a win Nigeria to win,” he said. “This is the minimum they would need to do in order to advance in the competition and give back confidence to the fans, so I expect them to win convincingly,” he added.
Meanwhile, Oluwayemi is not optimistic about Nigeria winning convincingly, citing the performance of Equatorial Guinea in the past year, in which they did not lose any game.
Oluwayemi predicted a 2-1 for Nigeria but maintained the quality of their today’s opponents cannot be overlooked, citing the not-too-convincing performance in Nigeria’s goalkeeping and defending departments.
“Today’s game is not going be like as people are thinking a game against Equatorial Guinea would be because they have compact and going ten games without losing is massive,” he said.
He added, “Coming into the competition, they are the underdog, but they can cause upset given our shambles in the goalkeeping position and the defence line. It will be a Super Eagles game, but I expect it to be a close call.
Host nation Côte d’Ivoire have taken an early lead in Group A after the Elephants defeated Wild Dogs of Guinea-Bissau 2-0 in the competition’s opening game on Saturday as Nigeria must win today to keep up with the pace.
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