Nations Cup: Super Eagles Battle Ivory Coast For Redemption

The Super Eagles of Nigeria will take on 2023 Africa Nations Cup hosts, Ivory Coast on Thursday night for redemption after a poor start to the competition.

The three-time Nations Cup winners played out a disappointing 1-1 draw against lowly-rated Equatorial Guinea on Sunday, missing series of goalscoring chances.

The team’s woes was compounded after impressive midfielder, Alhassan Yusuf hobbled off injured in the encounter.

As a result of the injury on Sunday, he is expected to miss the clash against Ivory Coast today.

Ahead of the clash, Super Eagles coach, Jose Peseiro and the players have promised Nigerians that the maximum points are not negotiable.

Peseiro said, “We have what it takes to win the game and there’s nothing to change in my team because we created lot of goalscoring opportunities in our game against Equatorial Guinea and we hope to utilise the opportunities this time and score goals.”

Super Eagles stand-in captain, William Troost-Ekong has revealed that the players know what is at stake and they are ready to go for victory.

Troost-Ekong said: “We’ve spoken about this so much, we have Kenneth (Omeruo) and (Ahmed) Musa who have won the AFCON with us and they told us exactly how that journey was. Some of the guys like myself, who were there in 2019, also explained exactly how it was to get to the semi-final and take the bronze,”

“You know in football, it’s not always when you want something that you get it. The other teams too, you have to respect them as well.”

The Super Eagles must beat Ivory Coast in order to get their Nations Cup journey back on track.

Meanwhile, Super Eagles legend, Austin Jay Jay Okocha has tipped the team to defeat Ivory Coast.

Okocha said: “And as we know, in football, every match is difficult. If you are well prepared, you have a chance of winning your match. But, we Nigerians, we know that it will be a difficult match but also, we believe that we have enough potential to be able to win this match,

“Every match is difficult but when you play the host country, it is even more difficult. But, of course the beauty of football is that if you want to be champions, you have to win against the best,”

“I think what the key will be experience, desire and state of mind. For me, they are professionals, and they know the importance of this match, I think their mindset will be the key.”

Ivory Coast vs Nigeria Head to Head

The Super Eagles and the Elephants have clashed six times, with both sides winning twice and the other two encounters ended in draws.

Super Eagles were victorious in the last meeting at the 2013 Nations Cup with a 2-1 win in the quarterfinals.

The last three meetings between them in the group stage have produced only two goals (0-0 in 1980, 1-0 to Nigeria in 1990, 1-0 to Ivory Coast in 2008).

Ivory Coast have lost only one of their last 38 group stage games in the Nations Cup.

Nigeria have lost just one of their last 12 AFCON group stage games (W8 D3), with their 2-0 defeat to Madagascar in 2019 the only time they’ve failed to score in this run.

The match is slated for 6pm Nigerian time on Thursday night at the Olympic Stadium in Ebimpe, Abidjan.