Super Eagles camp update is buzzing days away from the commencement of the 2023 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Ivory Coast.
The Eagles camp ahead of Africa's biggest football event officially opened in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Tuesday, 2 January 2024.
Nigeria have been drawn in Group A alongside hosts Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea and Guinea Bissau, and will kick-off their campaign a day after the tournament's curtain raiser.
Super Eagles AFCON Camp Opens As Nigeria Gun For Fourth Titlehttps://t.co/PayXK1k0wM pic.twitter.com/5JJCDroHFd
— Channels Television (@channelstv) January 2, 2024
Coach of the Super Eagles Jose Peseiro had on two occasions last year promised to bring smiles to the faces of Nigerians by winning the long-awaited fourth AFCON trophy.
The country last emerged as champions in the 2013 edition in South Africa under the guidance of late coach Stephen Keshi.
The dream of winning the next AFCON has driven the Nigerian team into adopting the catch-phrase “Let’s Do It Again” as a statement of intent towards winning a fourth title come February 11 when the final is staged.
Coach Peseiro unveiled a 25-man squad for the tournament last Friday, calling up African Footballer of the Year, Victor Osimhen; Bayer Leverkusen in-form striker Victor Boniface; team captain, Ahmed Musa; and Chippa United goalkeeper, Stanley Nwabali along with other notable figures.
Nwabali was drafted in to solve the team’s goalkeeping crisis and is joined by first-choice Francis Uzoho and Enyimba FC shot-stopper, Olorunleke Ojo who will be hoping to make his AFCON debut as the only home-based member of the squad.
Super Eagles camp update: 24 players have arrived
Seventeen Super Eagles players have arrived the training camp as Peseiro and his crew prepare towards the AFCON tournament.
Team captain Ahmed Musa is among the first to report to camp, and was joined by fellow 2013 AFCON winner Kenneth Omeruo, Nantes winger Moses Simon, and Enyimba FC goalkeeper Olorunleke Ojo.
Fulham’s duo of Alex Iwobi and Calvin Bassey, as well as West Brom’s Semi Ajayi, Southampton midfielder Joe Aribo, Brentford’s Frank Onyeka, and Nottingham Forest defender Ola Aina have all landed from England.
Portugal-based defenders Chidozie Awaziem, Bruno Onyemaechi of Boavista, and Porto’s Zaidu Sanusi are also in the camp, as well as Atalanta forward Ademola Lookman, Bayer Leverkusen’s Victor Boniface, Club Brugge’s Raphael and Fenerbahce’s Bright Osayi-Samuel.
Recent arrivals to the camp are Samuel Chukwueze, Umar Sadiq, Stanley Nwabali, Francis Uzoho, Yusuf Alhassan, William Troost-Ekong, and Victor Osimhen.
Still expected to join the squad is Leicester City forward Kelechi Iheanacho who is fast recovering from an injury setback.
Peseiro and his crew oversaw their first training session with the boys on Wednesday, January 3 and have since been undergoing several sessions with the players as they continue to intensify preparations towards winning a first AFCON trophy since 2013.
Wilfred Ndidi has dropped out of the team after suffering an injury. Royal Antwerp’s Alhassan Yusuf was called up as the replacement for the defensive midfielder.
Players in Super Eagles camp
1. Ahmed Musa
2. Kenneth Omeruo
3. Moses Simon
4. Olorunleke Ojo
5. Alex Iwobi
6. Semi Ajayi
7. Ola Aina
8. Calvin Bassey
9. Ademola Lookman
10. Joe Aribo
11. Frank Onyeka
12. Bruno Onyemaechi
13. Chidozie Awaziem
14. Zaidu Sanusi
15. Victor Boniface
16. Raphael Onyedika
17. Bright Osayi-Samuel
18. Samuel Chukwueze
19. Umar Sadiq
20. Stanley Nwabali
21. Francis Uzoho
22. Yusuf Alhassan
23. William Troost-Ekong
24. Victor Osimhen
The Super Eagles will be in the oil-rich country for a week as they fine-tune final preparations for the third biggest continental football showpiece in the world.
Nigeria are coming into the competition on the back of a poor start to the 2026 World Cup qualification campaign.
The Peseiro led Eagles team only managed two points after two games against low-rated Lesotho and Zimbabwe just a month before the AFCON.
Ivory Coast will kick-start AFCON 2023 against Guinea-Bissau on 13 January 2024 at the 60,000 capacity Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan.
Nigeria's first game is against Equatorial Guinea on Sunday, 14 January, before they square off with the hosts four days later.
The three-time AFCON winners will then take the battle to Guinea-Bissau on Monday, January 22 to conclude the group stage hostilities.
This article was most recently revised and updated 11 months ago
