Super Eagles head coach, Jose Peseiro, for the umpteenth time, has stressed that he hopes to win the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations for Nigeria, PUNCH Sports Extra reprts.
The next edition of the AFCON is billed to hold in Ivory Coast from January 13 to February 11.
The Portuguese tactician last year on two occasions had promised to bring smiles to the faces of Nigerians by winning the long-coveted trophy after the country last won it in 2013 under the guidance of late Stephen Keshi.
Despite winning all their three group matches at the last edition in Cameroon the Eagles, who were tagged the favourites, crashed out of the competition in the round of 16 to a depleted Tunisian side.
The Eagles, who have been drawn in Group A alongside hosts, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea and Guinea Bissau, have adopted the catch-phrase ‘Let’s Do It Again’ as their battlecry towards winning a fourth Africa Cup of Nations title in early next year.
Nigeria won the 1980 edition of the AFCON on home soil, before going on to win the 1994 and 2013 editions in Tunisia and South Africa respectively.
With just 12 days to the highly anticipated tournament in the south coast of West Africa, Peseiro in a chat with KORAPLUS insisted that his ambition of winning the AFCON had not changed.
“My experience with the Nigerian national team is very good. Being part of African and Nigerian football is an interesting thing, and I cannot deny that,” Peseiro said.
“I told everyone that I wanted to win the Africa Cup of Nations from the first moment I signed the contract with the Nigerian national team, and we study our opponents well in order to win, and this is what we seek to achieve.
“I expect strong and difficult competition in the current edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, and the teams that participate are all distinguished and want to win the title.”
The Portuguese tactician, however, tipped Egypt as one of the tournament’s favourites.
He added, “There are many strong teams that are candidates to win the AFCON, such as the Egyptian national team, which is the best in the continent of Africa, and I believe that it is a candidate to win the current version of the AFCON.”
