AFCON
Iwobi Says Osimhen’s Attitude Gives Nigeria Extra AFCON Motivation –
Nigeria midfielder Alex Iwobi says the attitude shown by team-mate Victor Osimhen is being used as a source of motivation at the Africa Cup of Nations.
The Super Eagles were held to a 1-1 draw by Equatorial Guinea in their group stage opener, a result which adds extra importance to tomorrow’s match against host nation Ivory Coast.
Osimhen, 25, scored Nigeria’s goal — his 21st in 29 international appearances — and Iwobi says the rest of the squad can take inspiration from the Napoli marksman’s hunger.
The Fulham ace told LiveScore: “Everyone has the opinion that he’s a great striker and the reason why he’s such a great striker is because he’s someone that is hungry.
“I’ve seen him grow from a youngster. Without that hunger and passion for football, he wouldn’t be where he is now.
“It’s something we also use as inspiration. When we see our striker pressing and hungry to get goals, it gives us that motivation to do the same and go win the ball to create chances.
Boniface blow
Osimhen’s importance to Nigeria’s AFCON hopes was further increased by Victor Boniface’s withdrawal from the squad. The 23-year-old suffered a serious groin injury in training which required surgery.
The Bayer Leverkusen star has scored 10 goals and assisted seven more in the Bundesliga this term — and Super Eagles centre-back Calvin Bassey recognises his absence is a significant blow.
He said: “A big loss. Everyone could see his quality from what he’s been doing in the Bundesliga. We wish him well.
“Of course, it wasn’t nice for us regardless of who it was. You don’t want to see anyone get injured and have to undergo surgery.”
Iwobi added: “When it happened, it was so sad. We were doing a finishing drill and he hurt his groin.
“The way he went down was so sad because someone of his quality is something we needed.
“But at the same time, it’s Nigeria. If one person goes down there’s another one coming in. So we can’t dwell on it.
“He [Boniface] wished us well. Hopefully we can do our best for him.”
Nigeria are among the favourites to win this year’s AFCON and add to their previous three triumphs in 1980, 1994 and 2013.
Iwobi is confident of lifting the trophy at the Olympic Stadium of Ebimpe on February 11, calling on his team-mates to simply prove their quality.
The 27-year-old said: “Of course I believe in us [to win the trophy]. Because I feel we have one of the best teams, player for player, in Africa.
“We just have to prove it.”
Speaking positively about the Super Eagles’ chances, Fulham team-mate Bassey added: “All of us are very grounded.
“We know we’re going to need to work hard, be more prepared than the opposition regardless of the quality we have.”
-LiveScore
AFCON
African champions Cote d’Ivoire ring changes with new backroom staff
Cote d’Ivoire head coach Emerse Fae has overhauled his backroom team following the Elephants’ Africa Cup of Nations, Cote d’Ivoire 2023, success earlier this year.
Fae, who took over from Frenchman Jean-Louis Gasset during the tournament in January, has brought in three new faces as he builds towards qualifying for the 2025 TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations and 2026 World Cup.
Former Cote d’Ivoire goalkeeper Gerard Gnahouan, 45, joins as goalkeeping coach after working in this role with French Ligue 2 side Sochaux.
Gnahouan, capped 10 times by the Elephants between 2002 and 2011, takes over as goalkeeping coach and will be tasked with getting the best out of first-choice Yahia Fofana.
Moroccan Samir Anba, previously with French club Nice and Morocco’s Under-17s, takes over as fitness coach, while Jeremy Antonio arrives as video analyst after working with Fae at French side Clermont.
“This new composition of the technical staff marks the start of a new era for the Cote d’Ivoire national team, and expectations are high,” said Fae.
Fae kept faith with assistant Guy Demel while former international Alain Gouamene joins as the second assistant coach of the AFCON-winning team.
The 40-year-old led an all-local setup to a surprise African title in March after being promoted from Gasset’s number two following their near exit at the group stage.
The new backroom additions have a huge challenge ahead, with Cote d’Ivoire facing crunch matches in June as they bid to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
The Elephants top their qualifying group after beating Gambia and Seychelles in the opening two matches in Group F of the qualifiers under caretaker Gasset.
-CAF
AFCON
Liberia, Eswatini hold upper hand in AFCON 2025 preliminary qualifiers –
After commanding victories in the first leg matches of the Africa Cup of Nations, Morocco 2025, qualifiers, Chad, Liberia, and Eswatini find themselves in advantageous positions as they gear up for the return fixtures scheduled for Tuesday.
As the second leg of the preliminary fixtures approach, all eyes will be on these teams as they vie for their coveted spots in the group phase of the qualifiers, with the hopes of making their mark on the continental stage.
Chad emerged victorious with a narrow 1-0 win over Mauritius, joining Liberia and Eswatini in the lead after their impressive triumphs earlier last week.
Liberia secured a 2-0 victory against Djibouti, while Eswatini displayed their dominance with a 3-0 win over Somalia.
The second leg promises to be fiercely contested, particularly for Chad, who will face a challenging encounter against Mauritius on the latter’s home turf.
Coach Kevin Nicaise’s players are keen to defend their slender lead and secure their spot in the next phase of the qualifiers but the trainer admits they have an arduous task.
“We are far from perfect, far from being a top team in the world. We are in the construction phase. There are still things to work on and improve,” coach Nicaise said after their first-leg win.
“It is not overnight that we will be a top team in the world, we are aware of that, however we are working hard with the group and the staff to achieve this goal.”
Meanwhile, Liberia will host Djibouti, aiming to build on their first-leg success and seal their progression to the next round.
Eswatini will host Somalia with confidence, seeking to maintain their winning momentum and secure passage to the next stage of the tournament.
South Sudan and Sao Tome and Principe will also face off in what is expected to be a closely contested encounter, following their goalless draw in the first leg.
With both teams eager for victory, the match promises to be a thrilling battle for supremacy.
-CAF
AFCON
Liberia and Eswatini take control of AFCON preliminary ties
Liberia and Eswatini took commanding leads in their respective Africa Cup of Nations, Morocco 2025, preliminary round ties after claiming impressive away victories on Wednesday.
Liberia captain Murphy Dorley scored one of two first-half goals as the Lone Stars defeated hosts Djibouti 2-0 in the opening leg in Marrakech.
Mohammed Sangare broke the deadlock from the penalty spot on 23 minutes before Dorley coolly slotted home Sebastian Teclar’s cross 12 minutes later.
Djibouti struggled to lay a glove on their more illustrious opponents as the Lone Star side kept them at bay to take two away goals into next week’s second leg in Monrovia.
Eswatini were also celebrating after demolishing Somalia 3-0 in the Moroccoan city of El Jadida to put one foot in the group stage qualifiers.
Striker Sabelo Ndzinisa was the hero, netting twice either side of Felicio Figuareido’s 40th minute opener for the visitors.
Somalia now face an uphill battle to qualify when they travel to the Mbombela Stadium in the South African city of Nelspruit for the return on March 26th.
The opening leg victories give Liberia and Eswatini a huge advantage heading into the second legs as they target a place in the group stage on the road to next year’s finals in Morocco.
Back from the locker room, Somalia still couldn’t play its game.
Worse, Eswatini widened the gap with Ginindza who scored his double of the evening in the 56th minute. 3-0, the score remained unchanged on the scoreboard until the final whistle.
Victory for Eswatini which will still have to perform in the return leg to ensure its qualification for the qualifiers.
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