- The Super Eagles last won the prestigious trophy in 2013 in South Africa
- Eguavoen insists the Super Eagles can beat the 23 other teams to the title
Technical director of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Augustine Eguavoen believes the Super Eagles have the quality to win the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
The Super Eagles last won the prestigious trophy on the continent in 2013 in South Africa.
The West Africans will be looking to win a fourth AFCON title next year in Cote d’Ivoire.
Jose Peseiro’s side have been drawn in Group A with the host nation, Equatorial Guinea and Guinea-Bissau.
Eguavoen insists the Super Eagles can beat the 23 other teams to the title.
“We have been craving to try to get the Nations Cup back; since 2013 we’ve not been able to achieve that feat; we know we have the capacity, we have the quality and everything to be able to win it,” Eguavoen told Brila FM on Tuesday morning.
“But to say it is easy to achieve, is another thing, so everybody has to work towards the same goal, support the team whichever way we can, support the coaches and the players have to go out there and do the job.”
Meanwhile, the three-time African champions were the better side in Portugal as they cruised to a straightforward victory over 10-Man Mozambique in their second international friendly game at the Estadio Municipal de Albufeira on Monday evening.
The Super Eagles’ win on Monday marked the Nigerian team’s first victory in a friendly game in five years.
With Napoli’s Victor Osimhen and Kelechi Iheanacho unavailable, head coach Jose Peseiro was certain to make changes to the starting eleven that played against Saudi Arabia on Friday, as Frank Onyeka scored his first-ever goal for Nigeria.
The changes, though, were massive as Jordan Torunarigha, making his international debut, paired Kenneth Omeruo in defence, with Bright Osayi-Samuel holding forte at right-back.
Raphael Onyedika and Frank Onyeka slotted in midfield alongside Joe Aribo, while Fisayo Dele-Bashiru also made his Super Eagles bow just behind Moses Simon and Terem Moffi in attack.
The Super Eagles were stunned by that early goal, but they recovered quickly enough as Terem Moffi grabbed the equaliser in the 19th minute. The OGC Nice forward reacted the fastest to a rebound after the goalkeeper spilled a shot to stab home from close range.
On the half-hour mark, Dele-Bashiru marked his Super Eagles debut with an assist as he set the ball up for Onyeka to make it 2-1 for Nigeria.
Things went from bad to worse for Mozambique as their player Edmilson Dove was sent off on 37 minutes for fouling goal-bound Joe Aribo.
On 45 minutes, the Super Eagles added their third as Moses Simon made no mistake from the penalty spot, after a Mozambique player was judged by the referee to have stopped Dele-Bashiru’s free-kick with his hand.
Meanwhile, at the start of the second half Faisal Bangal pulled in and scored the second goal for Mozambique in the the 55th minute.