The Super Eagles of Nigeria will kick off their Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON 2023) campaign on Sunday against Equatorial Guinea. They've been continental champions on three occasions, and will set their sights on a fourth title.
However, a former Super Eagles player is fairly confident that Jose Peseiro's men will not emerge victorious at the Nations Cup, which will be played in Ivory Coast.
Brown Ideye, who currently plies his trade with Al-Yarmouk in the Kuwaiti Division 1 represented Nigeria's national team between 2010 and 2016. He earned 26 caps for the Super Eagles, scoring six times. It's important to note that Ideye was part of Nigeria's AFCON 2013 winning team, and he scored one of his six goals in that tournament.
“We have players, but we don't have a team. This team lacks discipline and passion for the country. I'm not sure they can win in Cote d'Ivoire. They should all gather in the room of Ahmed Musa and discuss with him and Kenneth Omeruo. They need Musa and Omeruo to tell them how we conquered Africa in 2013.” Ideye said in an interview.
“The discipline, the sacrifices, and how we fought and tasked ourselves when everyone have given up on us.”
Super Eagles have had their fair share of struggles
Although the Super Eagles have a star-studded squad, Ideye believes the team lacks cohesion. This is apparent from their recent run of results, as Peseiro's troops won just one of their last five matches in all competitions. They also suffered a 2-0 loss to Guinea a few days before their AFCON opener.
There are also some injury concerns, as Leicester's Kelechi Iheanacho is questionable for the tournament, while Victor Boniface and Wilfred Ndidi have been ruled out. It remains to be seen if the Super Eagles can go all the way with Peseiro at the helm.
This article was most recently revised and updated 1 year ago
