Mutiu Adepoju Names Countries That Can Contend With Nigeria For 2023 AFCON

Former Super Eagles player, Mutiu Adepoju has named two national teams he thinks will contend with Nigeria for the 2023 AFCON in Ivory Coast.

Interestingly, Mutiu Adepoju who won the prestigious continental title for Nigeria in Tunisia in 1994, excluded the hosts of the 2023 edition of the tournament from his list of top three contenders.

The decision of the 52-year-old retired Nigerian midfielder to leave out Ivory Coast as one of the contenders for the title is logical given that the hosts hosted the 1982 edition of the tournament and failed to win.

In the said edition, Nigeria and Cameroon played in the final and the Eagles lost 3-1 to the Three Lions in regulation time.

Mutiu Adepoju is envisioning a reoccurrence of such a scenario in this edition which will commence on January 13 but this time around, Cameroon is not in contention for the title according to the football legend.

Adepoju believes that the most successful country in the history of the competition, Egypt, and the defending champions of the tournament, Senegal are the only two countries of the the 24 teams that can challenge the Super Eagles for the title.

“There are many favourites to win the tournament in Ivory Coast and Nigeria is one of them,” Adepoju told Punch.

“I will also tip Egypt and Senegal but it is going to be difficult to say who will be the winner until the championship starts because now in football you can really predict what will happen.

“We will wait until the tournament starts and see how it ends but I know Nigeria are among the favourites to win it.”

Super Eagles will begin their campaign in the 2023 AFCON in Group A against Equatorial Guinea on January 14. They will play the hosts, Ivory Coast, on January 18, and end the group stage with a game against Guinea Bissau on January 22.