AFCON 2023
Peseiro moves to win Nigeria’s fourth AFCON
Lists 25 players for Super Eagles AFCON title ambition in Cote d’Ivoire
By Rasheed Adewuyi
Three-time champions Nigeria have picked a team of 25 players for their onslaught for a fourth Africa Cup of Nations title, with Head Coach Jose Peseiro settling for usual suspects in a roster that has three goalkeepers, nine defenders, five midfielders and eight forwards.
Captain Ahmed Musa returns to the squad after he was left out of the starting games to the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification series, while South Africa-based goalkeeper Stanley Nwabili is picked alongside Francis Uzoho and Olorunleke Ojo.
2009 U17 World Cup star Kenneth Omeruo (the only other candidate in the team apart from Musa who was in Nigeria’s 2013 squad that triumphed in South Africa) leads the defence line alongside William Ekong, as well as Olaoluwa Aina, Oluwasemilogo Ajayi, Calvin Bassey, Zaidu Sanusi, Chidozie Awaziem, Bright Osayi-Samuel and Bruno Onyemaechi.
Wilfred Ndidi is also back in the roost after missing the World Cup qualifying matches against Lesotho and Zimbabwe, and will be expected to adequately feed the strike-force alongside Alex Iwobi, Raphael Onyedika, Joe Ayodele-Aribo and Frank Onyeka.
Musa, Nigeria’s record goalscorer at the FIFA World Cup finals with a brace each in Brazil 2014 and Russia 2018, is in the forward-line alongside Africa Player of the Year Victor Osimhen, Kelechi Iheanacho, Moses Simon, Samuel Chukwueze, Victor Boniface, Sadiq Umar and Ademola Lookman.
All the 25 players will depart from their different bases on Tuesday, 2nd January to fly into Abu Dhabi, capital city of the United Arab Emirates, for a one-week training camp that will last until Tuesday, 9th January. The team will fly back to Lagos on Tuesday 9th January, and then fly into the Ivorian capital, Abidjan on Wednesday, 10th January.
The Super Eagles, in their quest for a fourth continental title, will take on Equatorial Guinea on Sunday, 14th January in their first match of Group A, before further clashes with host nation Cote d’Ivoire (18th January) and Guinea Bissau (22nd January).
Nigeria, who will be participating in the Africa Cup of Nations for the 20th time, were champions as hosts in 1980, triumphant in Tunisia in 1994 and crowned winners in South Africa in 2013.
When Cote d’Ivoire hosted the finals in 1984, a young Nigerian squad led by the inimitable Stephen Keshi went all the way to the Final, before losing to much-experienced Indomitable Lions of Cameroon in a memorable Final at the Stade Felix Houphouet-Boigny in Abidjan.
ALL THE INVITED PLAYERS:
Goalkeepers: Stanley Nwabili (Chippa United, South Africa); Francis Uzoho (Omonia FC, Cyprus); Olorunleke Ojo (Enyimba FC)
Defenders: Olaoluwa Aina (Nottingham Forest, England); Chidozie Awaziem (Boavista FC, Portugal); Bright Osayi-Samuel (Fenerbahce FC, Turkey); William Troost-Ekong (PAOK Salonika, Greece); Bruno Onyemaechi (Boavista FC, Portugal); Kenneth Omeruo (Kasimpasa FC, Turkey); Oluwasemilogo Ajayi (West Bromwich Albion, England); Calvin Bassey (Fulham FC, England); Zaidu Sanusi (FC Porto, Portugal)
Midfielders: Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester City, England); Raphael Onyedika (Club Brugge, Belgium); Joe Ayodele-Aribo (Southampton FC, England); Frank Onyeka (Brentford FC, England); Alex Iwobi (Fulham FC, England)
Forwards: Ahmed Musa (Sivasspor K, Turkey); Victor Osimhen (Napoli SC, Italy); Kelechi Iheanacho (Leicester City, England); Sadiq Umar (Real Sociedad, Spain); Moses Simon (FC Nantes, France); Ademola Lookman (Atalanta FC, Italy); Samuel Chukwueze (AC Milan, Italy); Victor Boniface (Bayer Leverkusen, Germany)
AFCON 2023
A shock awaits Cape Verde-Abdou
EXCLUSIVE: Lions of Chinguetti coach on the cusp of another history-defining moment
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Mauritanian coach Amir Abdou is a proven achiever. He isn’t new to creating history and causing upsets.
In this exclusive for CAFonline, he takes stock of what has been achieved so far at the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Côte d’Ivoire 2023 and looks forward to more.
- Round of 16 is familiar territory for a 51-year-old
- Thinks of Cape Verde game as a unique opportunity to make history
For the second time running, you’re here for the AFCON; how does it feel?
I have been working with Mauritania for two and a half years and am proud of what we have achieved.
It’s a great honor for me to participate in the Africa Cup of Nations for the second time due to the hard work of the players who beat Algeria for us to qualify. I couldn’t achieve this alone, so it’s an honor.
What was the reception in Bouake like?
We were surprised in Bouake; we had a good reception, the infrastructure was sound, the Ivorians welcomed us well, we were in a welcoming city, the field was in excellent condition, and the tournament was successful.
Knowing you are the first coach to win an AFCON game with Mauritania, how do you feel?
Nothing can be achieved alone; this is collective work that has been done; we prepared the players mentally and physically and ensured that they had the right mindset to be up to the task.
I’m proud to have helped throughout this group stage. No one believed we could qualify for the group stage, but we made it; we are not giving up here and will continue.
Only God knows; at the moment, I’m only focused on the round of 16, and later, we will see.
You caused an upset in Cameroon and have repeated it in Côte d’Ivoire again; how do you build your team’s confidence for big games?
What we achieved with Comoros was extraordinary since it is my country, and I said we could do this again. I said what happened with Comoros could be repeated with Mauritania, but no one believed in us, and at the end of the day, we qualified after the win against Algeria.
You were in a tough group with Algeria, Burkina Faso and Angola, how did you manage that?
The first two games we played against Angola and Burkina Faso favored us. It was essential for us to have a similar mindset. Later, the players believed in themselves and went for it. It’s positive for us.
What will be the approach for the 16-round games against Cape Verde?
We are going to get ready and have the proper preparation for this match; Cape Verde is also considered an outsider, so all I can say is we are going to get ready and prepare accordingly.
So, we need to be calm. No one believed we could qualify. The objective is to stay humble and make sure we go as far as possible, get through this knockout stage, make history, and bring joy to the people of Mauritania.
This is a dream, a vast dream. To achieve this dream, we have to go step by step and look at the matches. If we get a good game against Cape Verde, we will look at what we can achieve later.
AFCON 2023
‘One last chance available for Elephants’
Roger Boli weighs Côte d’Ivoire’s chances against Senegal
AFCON 2023
AFCON Group A – Facts & Figures
Cote d’Ivoire v Guinea Bissau
The 34th edition of the TotalEnergies CAF African Cup of Nations kicks off on Saturday, with hosts Cote d’Ivoire taking on Guinea Bissau.
CafOnline.com looks at some interesting facts and figures of the two sides ahead of the tricky match.
- This will be the first encounter between Côte d’Ivoire and Guinea-Bissau at the CAF Africa Cup of Nations.
- Côte d’Ivoire is participating in its 25th CAF Africa Cup of Nations; only Egypt has appeared more in the continent’s premier competition (26). They will attempt to win the trophy for the third time, after 1992 and 2015.
- Côte d’Ivoire is hosting the CAF Africa Cup of Nations for the second time, 40 years after being held in the country in 1984. Cameroon won the title, while Côte d’Ivoire was knocked out in the group stages.
- The hosts/co-hosts of the CAF Africa Cup of Nations have systematically reached the knockout stages of the tournament in all but one of the last 14 editions – the exception was Gabon in 2017. However, no host has won the AFCON since Egypt in 2006.
- Côte d’Ivoire are unbeaten in their last 12 opening matches at the CAF Africa Cup of Nations (W7 D5) – the last time they lost their first match in an edition of the tournament was in 1996 (0-2 v Ghana). Their opening match will be their 100th in the AFCON, becoming the third team to reach that tally after Egypt and Ghana.
- This is Guinea-Bissau’s fourth Africa Cup of Nations appearance after making their debut in the competition only six years ago in 2017. They have finished at the bottom of their group in their three previous participations, with three draws and six defeats.
- Only Benin (14) and Mozambique (12) have played more matches than Guinea-Bissau (9) at the CAF Africa Cup of Nations without ever winning one.
- Guinea-Bissau have failed to score in their last seven matches at the CAF Africa Cup of Nations, a record for any team in the competition’s history. It’s been over 11 hours since they last found the net (707 minutes), a goal by Piqueti against Cameroon on 18 January 2017.
- If Max Gradel plays, this will be his seventh CAF Africa Cup of Nations, equaling Boubacar Barry, Siaka Tiéné, and Kolo Touré as the Ivorians with the most AFCON appearances. He was part of the winning squad in 2015.
- The duo of Zinho Gano and Jorginho scored 55% of Guinea-Bissau’s goals in the qualifiers for the 2023 CAF Africa Cup of Nations (3 goals each, out of a total of 11 team goals).