The Super Eagles’ AFCON 2023 campaign kicks off this weekend in the Ivory Coast, with many of Africa’s top talents in action over the next month. Nigeria are hoping to bounce back from a disappointing pre-tournament friendly loss against Guinea in their first match of the tournament against Equatorial Guinea – a match in which they are 1.47 favourites to come out on top.
Bet9ja Ambassador and 1994 AFCON winner Victor Ikpeba spoke to us recently about his pre-match predictions and where he thinks the match will be won and lost.
Nigeria Need To Focus On Keeping A Clean Sheet
It is obvious where the Super Eagles’ weaknesses lie for me – we are far too easy to score against! As the saying goes, strong attacks win games, but strong defences win titles, and we will have to tighten things up at the back if we are going to go anywhere in this competition.
After the loss to Guinea this week it is imperative that we give ourselves the confidence boost that we need by avoiding conceding goals against Equatorial Guinea. I don’t mind if it’s a 1-0 victory – I would almost rather that than a 3-1 victory!
Obviously, we have had a few issues with injuries – Wilfred Ndidi’s absence is a big miss because of his experience and ability to sweep up attacks, but I hope Peseiro will adapt.
We Have A Top-Class Attack!
Despite the defensive frailties, we cannot deny that our attack can cause problems for any team in this competition – even with Victor Boniface out injured.
Victor Osimhen is one of the very best attackers in the world and has an opportunity to make himself a legend, much like he did last season with Napoli. Behind him you have guys like Samu Chukwueze and Alex Iwobi who have the trickiness and technical ability to create top-level chances.
You’d think that we have enough quality to get past Equatorial Guinea with this sort of quality in attacking positions – it would be a great confidence booster for the rest of the tournament.
