AFCON 2023: Super Eagles win over Cote D’Ivoire, a boost of confidence, says Amuneke

Posted : 19 January 2024

Emmanuel Amuneke, the 1994 African Cup of Nations winner and Atlanta 96 Olympics gold medalist, has described Thursday’s Super Eagles' win against the Elephants of Cote D’Ivoire as a “massive confidence booster” for the team.

Amuneke, who himself scored two goals in the 5th and 47th minutes at the final of the 1994 AFCON between Nigeria and Zambia at Stade El Menzah, Tunis, made the commendation in an interview monitored in Lagos.

Nigeria, in the second match of Group A, defeated the host nation, Cote D’Ivoire, 1-0 at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium, commonly known as the Olympic Stadium of Ebimpé, with a 55th-minute penalty taken by the stand-in captain of the team, William Troost Ekong.

Amuneke, a former winger for Barcelona FC in Spain, said that achieving a victory over a host nation was no mean feat.

According to him, "I congratulate all Nigerians and the Super Eagles over this important win, knowing the rivalry between both countries at the home ground of Cote D’Ivoire.

“The win is a massive boost of confidence for the Super Eagles. I like the mentality of the players who are aware that they need no one to tell them that the match against Cote D’Ivoire has lots of things involved.

“This is due to the rivalry that has existed between both countries over the years. I like the approach, and I think that they were able to be more compact today.

“I also like the transition of the game, especially from the defense to the attack; it is impressive that our players possess such character.”

Amuneke also said that Cote D’Ivoire was not that fantastic coming into the AFCON 2024.

“The Ivorians were a bit slow in their build-up playing against Nigeria, but not taking away the credit from the Nigerian players; they played well too.

“We don’t need a wide margin to beat a country like Cote D’Ivoire; we just needed an opportunity which we took through a clear penalty given.

“I also praise the ability of the captain, Ekong, who took the responsibility and scored.

“Going forward, the Super Eagles need to take the game one after the other; the team has drawn one and won one game, so they need to do more because the AFCON has produced many interesting results; I really like the level of the competition,” he added.

AFCON 2023: Super Eagles win over Cote D’Ivoire, a boost of confidence, says Amuneke

ADD A COMMENT :

Hot Topics