Nigeria football icon Austin Jay Jay Okocha expects a difficult match when the Super Eagles face AFCON hosts Ivory Coast on Thursday.
Recall that in their first encounter, the Super Eagles were restricted to a 1-1 draw by Equatorial Guinea, while Ivory Coast defeated Guinea-Bissau 2-0.
However, in an interview with Cafonline, the former PSG great claimed that in order to win the championship, the Super Eagles must be prepared to face the best.
Okocha said:
“I think what the key will be experience, desire and state of mind. For me, they are professionals, and they know the importance of this match, I think their mindset will be the key.”
“Absolutely! Every match is difficult but when you play the host country, it is even more difficult.“But, of course, the beauty of football is that if you want to be champions, you have to win against the best and as we know, in football, every match is difficult.
“If you are well prepared, you have a chance of winning your match. But, we Nigerians, we know that it will be a difficult match but also, we believe that we have enough potential to be able to win this match.
“My favorite [to win Afcon], of course, is Nigeria, naturally. Come on, we’ll wait and see.”
cc: Vanguard Ng
