Nigeria head coach Jose Peseiro has highlighted the team's attacking qualities ahead of their 2023 Africa Cup of Nations opener against Equatorial Guinea at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium on Sunday, 14 January.
We no go gree for anybody. Update your calendar! Let the games begin!#SoarSuperEagles #LetsDoItAgain #Afcon2023 pic.twitter.com/U2rbVokfgS
— 🇳🇬 Super Eagles (@NGSuperEagles) January 11, 2024
Kick-off is at 4pm CAT (SA, GMT+2)
The Super Eagles were the top scorers in qualifying with 22 goals, aided by their record-breaking 10-0 victory over Sao Tome and Príncipe.
Star striker Victor Osimhen led the way with 10 goals, five more than the next best haul of Louis Mafouta (Central African Republic), Sadio Mane (Senegal), Youssef Msakni (Tunisia) and Patson Daka (Zambia).
Peseiro was dealt a double blow in the lead-up to the tournament in Ivory Coast after Victor Boniface and Sadiq Umar withdrew from the 25-man squad due to injury, with some suggesting that the West Africans could be light up front.
❗️🔈 Eagles Afcon Camp Update#soarsupereagles #letsdoitagain #afcon2023 pic.twitter.com/KDgUhHNDNm
— 🇳🇬 Super Eagles (@NGSuperEagles) January 12, 2024
But the Portuguese tactician was quick to point out their goalscoring pedigree despite failing to beat Lesotho and Zimbabwe in their opening two 2026 World Cup qualifiers in November, which both ended in 1-1 draws.
Peseiro's side then failed to get on the scoresheet in a 2-0 friendly defeat to fellow Afcon participants Guinea on 8 January.
"We qualified and had the highest number of goals scored among all the pools because we are one of the African teams with a more offensive game plan," Peseiro told Lusa agency.
"We had the best scorer [Osimhen] and one of the best assistants [Moses Simon, with three]."
Osimhen is relishing the responsibility of firing the Super Eagles to their fourth Afcon title as he looks to emulate the likes of Jay-Jay Okocha, Rashidi Yekini, Joseph Yobo and Stephen Keshi.
"Like I've said before, if I never win the Afcon for Nigeria, people will question me. And it would be justified: there is a lot of responsibility on me. I know that, and I'm not running away from it," he told Al Jazeera.
"I want to win the Afcon with my country and write my own legacy. All the greats in Nigeria have a title to their name and to be mentioned in that space I must win it, too."
Focused 👌 #SoarSuperEagles #LetsDoItAgain #Afcon2013 pic.twitter.com/dvdTb8g5UR
— 🇳🇬 Super Eagles (@NGSuperEagles) January 12, 2024
The National Thunder did well to qualify for the African showpiece as they pushed Group J winners Tunisia all the way to finish second on goal difference.
Juan Micha's side suffered a heavy 4-0 defeat to the Eagles of Carthage on matchday 1, but they bounced back to go unbeaten in their next five games and pulled off a surprise 1-0 win over the North Africans in the home leg of the qualifiers.
Equatorial Guinea made a solid start to their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign after registering back-to-back 1-0 wins against Namibia and Liberia, while they drew 1-1 with Djibouti in a friendly on 9 January to go 10 games undefeated.
Goals set. 👌
— CAF (@CAF_Online) January 11, 2024
Nigeria are more than ready for the #TotalEnergiesAFCON2023! 🇳🇬@NGSuperEagles pic.twitter.com/BtPxtpflH5
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Nigeria
Victor Osimhen: The 25-year-old striker is carrying the hopes of a nation after an outstanding 2023 which saw him named African Footballer of the Year. He missed the November fixtures with a hamstring injury, but is determined to hit the ground running in Ivory Coast after his exploits in Afcon qualifying, having scored two hat-tricks against Sao Tome and Príncipe.
Equatorial Guinea
Emilio Nsue: The 34-year-old forward is Equatorial Guinea's all-time leading goalscorer and is in a rich vein of form for his country after netting four times in his last four appearances. This will likely be his last Afcon outing, having represented the National Thunder at the 2015 and 2021 editions, where they reached the semifinals and quarterfinals respectively.
Head-to-Head:
Matches - 3
Nigeria - 3
Equatorial Guinea - 0
Draws - 0