Taiwo Awoniyi Eyes 4th AFCON Trophy For Nigeria

Super Eagles forward Taiwo Awoniyi said he and his teammates are committed to winning the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations which will take place in Ivory Coast from January 2024.

The Super Eagles of Nigeria have already qualified for the tournament after beating Sierra Leone 3-2 in Monrovia, Liberia in June 2023.

Their qualification for the tournament means that Taiwo Awoniyi would represent the country at the tournament for the second successive time.

His first experience in the tournament came in the 2021 AFCON which was held in Cameroon from January 9 to February 6, 2022.

Despite starting the tournament like a house on fire, especially after defeating Egypt in the opening game of the group stage, the Super Eagles were knocked out of the competition in the round of 16 with a lone goal by Tunisia.

The last time the Super Eagles won the tournament was in 2013 after winning it in 1980 and 1994. Hence, if they win the forthcoming edition of the tournament, it would make it the 4th win in the country’s history.

In an interview with Channels Television, Taiwo Awoniyi said his teammates’ togetherness will be essential to winning a fourth AFCON championship which he said is the team’s target.

“I think everyone in the squad is happy; the first stage is to qualify for the AFCON, which we did already, then the next stage now is just to try everything possible to win the AFCON, which is the target for the country”, the Nottingham Forest forward said.

“The last one was an experience, I was there and we are happy we are there again and of course, we want to go there and we want to win the trophy for sure.”