The proposition was tabled and unanimously endorsed before
the final AFCON 2023 qualification match against the Falcons and True Parrots
of Sao Tome and Principe in Uyo last month, and was the basis for players and
officials donning a tee-shirt with the inscription after the match at the
Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo. The Eagles won that match 6-0.
Nigeria won the 1980 AFCON that she hosted, and also won the
1994 edition in Tunisia and the 2013 finals in South Africa. Team captain
William Ekong says the playing body and crew have taken to the new mantra like
bees to honey.
“We like the phrase because it gives us confidence and the
go-go push. We have done it before so we can do it again. Winning the Africa
Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire is our goal and we have the team to do just
that.”
Defender Kenneth Omeruo added: “I look around and I see
players who have the capacity to make it happen. We are all ambitious. The team
is a blend of old and wise heads and exciting new talents. We will go for the
trophy in Cote d’Ivoire.”
The song continues on Friday when the Super Eagles take on
Saudi Arabia in a friendly game at the Estadio Municipal de Portimão in
Portugal, with the bulk of the squad that blew away Sao Tome and Principe on
ground.
It is only the second time both countries will be clashing
at senior international level. The only previous encounter was also a friendly,
played in the Alpenstadion, Wattens in Austria on 25th May 2010 as part of
final preparations for the Eagles for the FIFA World Cup finals in South
Africa. Nwankwo Kanu, one of only two players to have featured for Nigeria at
the FIFA World Cup, captained the Super Eagles in that scoreless encounter.
Incidentally, current Super Eagles’ Head Coach, Jose
Peseiro, was Coach of Saudi Arabia that day.
The Eagles have another friendly encounter on Monday,
against the Mambas of Mozambique at the same venue, before the 2026 FIFA World
Cup qualifying matches against Lesotho and Zimbabwe in November.
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