George Abbey, a former professional football player from Port Harcourt, has discounted the Super Eagles’ prospects of winning the impending 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) competition.
With the current roster of players, Abbey thinks Nigeria is not ready to add to its AFCON title victories.
According to Naija News, the Super Eagles hope to win their fourth AFCON championship at the 34th edition, which is expected to take place in early 2019 in Ivory Coast. They had previously won the competition in South Africa in the 2013 finals, Tunisia in the 1994 edition, and their home country in 1980.
The three-time AFCON winners have taken up the motto “Let’s Do It Again” in an attempt to win another championship in Ivory Coast.
Nevertheless, Abbey—who played eighteen games for the Eagles and was a member of the squad that took home the bronze in the 2004 edition in Tunisia—said that even though Jose Peseiro’s team ended their 15-game losing streak in friendly games, they haven’t performed up to par in their recent games.
Even with Vincent Enyeama in goal, the former Crewe Alexandra defender feels that the current Eagles team is not good enough to contend for the championship in Ivory Coast.
Francis Uzoho, who rejoined the team after missing the previous game due to suspension, committed gaffes in the Eagles’ friendlies against Saudi Arabia and Mozambique. As the AFCON tournament draws near, fans’ concerns about the goalkeeper’s performance have surfaced once more.
The PUNCH cited Abbey as adding, “As a nation, we are so patriotic that we forget to check the current weather forecast.”
“This team is not as strong as our 2013 squad,” he continued. “I think that team overachieved given the team they faced.”
“I wouldn’t back us to win the AFCON, even if we were to miraculously produce a prime Vincent Enyeama and put him behind this team.” While I hope they do otherwise, I doubt it.
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According to Naija News, the 2023 AFCON will take place in January 2024. The Super Eagles of Nigeria will play in the first round against hosts Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, and Guinea-Bissau.
