Kenneth Omeruo Insists Super Eagles Have What It Takes To Conquer Ivory Coast

Super Eagles defender Kenneth Omeruo has admitted that the Super Eagles match against the host of the 2023 AFCON, Ivory Coast, will be a tough challenge for the Nigerian side.

Kenneth Omeruo who was part of the Super Eagles squad that knocked out Ivory Coast in the 2013 edition of the tournament, said he and his teammates have the self-belief to beat the host country on Thursday.

Ivory Coast won their opening Group stage game against Guinea-Bissau 2-0 on January 13 which kept them on top of Group A. While Nigeria recorded a disappointing 1-1 draw with Equatorial Guinea on January 14.

Hence, the hosts are going into the game on Thursday with more confidence than the Eagles who are currently sitting third in Group A.

The good news is that the Super Eagles have a good record against Ivory Coast as far as the AFCON is concerned. Nigeria have lost twice and won three times in their previous six meetings which makes the encounter on Thursday a fairly balanced one.

In terms of individual brilliance, the Eagles who currently have the best and the most expensive player on the continent, Victor Osimhen, in the squad, are no match for Ivory Coast.

However, in terms of the compactness of the two teams, Ivory Coast seems more compact than the Eagles who are still struggling in terms of having an identical style of play.

But as for Kenneth Omeruo, the Super Eagles of Nigeria have all it takes to overcome the Ivorians at the Olympic Stadium of Ebimpé on Thursday.

“We expect a tough game because the Ivorians are the hosts and they are also top of our group. But we have our aspirations as well and we believe in ourselves,” Omeruo said.

The Ivory Coast vs Nigeria AFCON 2023 will kick off at 6 p.m. on January 18. If the Eagles win the game, they could go top of Group A pending the outcome of the game between Guinea-Bissau and Equatorial Guinea.