Ahead of AFCON 2023, Bet9ja Ambassador and AFCON Champion Victor Ikpeba spoke to us about Nigeria’s chances and how important star man Victor Osimhen will be to their hopes as the Super Eagles look for a first AFCON win in 11 years.
Here’s what he had to say in the build-up to the tournament – you can enjoy over 200 markets here at Bet9ja!
AFCON is completely different to normal club football
It might be easy to look at certain squads competing in this year’s African Cup Of Nations and make your predictions based purely on the quality of the squads involved, but it is never that simple in AFCON.
The style of football is completely different to what you see in European football – it is much more physical, with a big emphasis on counterattacks instead of tactical, possession-based football. This is what makes it so good to watch, as matches can flip on a single moment out of nowhere.
Osimhen can raise the level of the rest of the team
Victor Osimhen is currently playing at a higher level than any Nigerian player has for a long time – his experience playing top-level football and winning the league with Napoli will prove important if The Super Eagles want to progress deep into the competition.
He is used to winning high-pressure matches and can bring that mentality to the rest of the team, many of whom are great players in their own right but playing for mid-table sides. You can say the same for Victor Boniface, who has exploded out of nowhere to become one of Europe’s most interesting striker prospects for Bayer Leverkusen. He is yet to lose a match this season and is used to playing in a winning team.
We are yet to see if Osimhen and Boniface can form a proper partnership in a Nigeria shirt, but if they can develop an understanding with each other they will be a formidable test for any team in the tournament.
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