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00:00The Super Eagles of Nigeria begin their Niger for the Win campaign in Morocco.
00:13That's in Group C of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations where they'll battle the likes of Tanzania, Uganda and Tunisia.
00:21And definitely we'll be covering all of the action involving the Super Eagles of Nigeria in Morocco.
00:26Here's our preview of the first game against Tanzania right here on the North Meg and definitely I remain your host, Ayomide Daniels.
00:34I bid you welcome to the show.
00:41And most certainly of course on the North Meg in this period, this festive AFCON period, one of the faces you'll be getting used to is not just mine but also K.
00:50K alongside other people will be judging the performance of the Super Eagles right there in Morocco.
00:56Great to have you on the show again, K.
00:57Always a pleasure, Ayomide.
00:58And the campaign is Niger for the win.
01:03How far do you think we can go in this tournament?
01:06That's the first question.
01:06Well, I think we should just use the AFCON as a makeshift for the disappointment of the World Cup.
01:14But I feel like the Super Eagles should tackle this with okay guys, we can go for this and win it.
01:21In the past couple of tournaments, we've come very close, you know, coming second in the last edition of course in Côte d'Ivoire.
01:29It's so, so, you know, annoying that we couldn't lift it.
01:32But I think we have another chance here.
01:34Look at the, looking at the group that we have, Group C, having the likes of Tunisia, Uganda and Tanzania.
01:40I feel this is a group we should, you know, not have issues.
01:43But you know, this is Super Eagles.
01:45Of course.
01:45You cannot have your own.
01:46It's not the Super Eagles if it's not dramatic.
01:48Exactly.
01:48William Trost Ekong had been leading the Super Eagles of Nigeria even from AFCON last year.
01:52Yeah.
01:53And now he's retired just before the start of the tournament.
01:57I think Trost Ekong can have his head high, you know.
02:02He did his best while he was very active with the Super Eagles over a decade about, you know, thereabouts.
02:08And I think he made his mark.
02:10And I also think that him retiring at this point, I would say yes.
02:15It's, it's, if you look at his games recently or off late, he's not his usual self.
02:20He's becoming very slow, you know.
02:22Yeah, but I think, I think the boiling point is the fact that he retires just a few weeks before the major tournament.
02:30I mean, he could have done that after the World Cup qualifiers when Nigeria was confirmed to not be playing at the Mundial in 2016.
02:36He did mention that he's going to be at the AFCON, not just playing, but of course the support we expected will still be there.
02:43So I feel there is nothing, we don't really have much to lose in terms of the leadership in as much as we still have quite a lot of guys who can still offer the leadership there.
02:53We have indeed he's still very much around in the squad and the likes.
02:56But I feel like he went out when maybe the ovation is still quite, you know, normal, not, not so.
03:04So looking at the new leadership group, let's talk about three leaders, captain, vice captain, and maybe supporting cast.
03:11Who do you think that should be?
03:13I think when trust Ekonga has not played, we have an NDD captain.
03:19Yes, but should he be captain now?
03:21There's been talk about, so I don't want to preempt you, but there's been talk about some certain persons also handling the role.
03:29It's a tricky one.
03:31It's a tricky one.
03:32And I think we might not be in the best of our knowledge to really say that, okay, this is the captain.
03:38I think Chell will really know because he's the one with the guys.
03:41He knows how everybody is knowing.
03:43Obviously Chell will make his choice.
03:44I'm just, you know, asking.
03:45Yeah, but from my head, I think I'm very much fine with NDD, you know, judging by the experience as well.
03:51He's been around the team.
03:51How about Victor Oseman?
03:52How do you think about Oseman being captain?
03:54Oseman being captain is not wrong, but I feel like Oseman at this time, he might be another weight.
04:02Maybe he's not really.
04:03But he carries the weight on the shoulder.
04:05Yeah, you know, sometimes you.
04:06He doesn't look like someone that is.
04:08Not all heroes wear capes like they say.
04:10So I think the role he's playing currently, I'm very much sure that he's very important.
04:15I mean, not all players wear the handband, but every player within their own rights is a leader.
04:18Exactly.
04:18Just look at Arsenal, you have, what's it called?
04:20Oh, we have to go back to Arsenal.
04:22No, we have to look at that.
04:22Let's leave Arsenal, please.
04:24Let's talk about the national team of Nigeria.
04:25Now, let's look at that group, Group C, and we're coming in with a lot of expectations.
04:30Although the Nigerian football community, you're not too sure where everyone is.
04:34But you know, when Nigeria is playing in the major tournament, the fans are always demanding.
04:40They always want to win.
04:42And the campaign now is Nigeria for the win.
04:44So definitely the last one, we got to the final, we're very close.
04:48Very close.
04:49Although many people didn't expect the Spiracus to get that far.
04:52And I personally did not expect, but they went that far.
04:55So you could imagine maybe they could do it again.
04:58Now that we have an expectation here.
04:59And then the players perhaps also having a point to prove after not qualifying for the World Cup,
05:06knowing fully well that the next time they'll go for a tournament, it might not be next year.
05:10Yeah.
05:10They want to make this count, obviously.
05:12Okay, maybe next year.
05:13It depends.
05:14Of course, you see Nigeria coming out of that group, right?
05:16So yes, certainly, maybe they'll still play next year.
05:20But technically speaking, after this tournament, they may not represent Nigeria for quite a while.
05:24So they want to make the best.
05:25Also, it's an aging group.
05:27Some of these players will not play again.
05:29And it's another chance to, you know, try and pick up silverware in their time with Nigeria.
05:33But you look at the opponents.
05:35Tanzania, Uganda, two East African countries, by the way.
05:38Tanzania, Uganda, and Tunisia.
05:40Tunisia, by the way, a very difficult opponent historically for Nigeria.
05:44Really difficult opponent.
05:46It's always difficult any time the supporters of Nigeria faces North African sides.
05:51And I think after Tanzania, it is Tunisia.
05:55So let's now go into the games.
05:58Tanzania first.
06:00They don't look like a high-profile opponent.
06:02But in African football, you know, no, the Congo game, I sort of knew what to expect.
06:09To be fair, I thought this Congo game, they may not have the biggest of names,
06:13but they have quality players.
06:15Maybe I'm not going to say the same for Tanzania because I'm not too sure about players in their ranks.
06:19But I guess the expectation has to be that they win.
06:24I mean, to get up to a great start and, you know, signal a statement of intent to the rest of Africa,
06:29to the rest of competing teams that they are here for business.
06:32Yeah, I definitely agree with you.
06:34You know, we have no other motive or whatever it is than to just go for this.
06:39This is the only compensation we can take for the disappointment of the World Cup, like we said earlier.
06:44So I think the Super Eagles, you know, right from the coach to the players,
06:47they need to get the motivation from wherever they want to get it from and just go for this.
06:52Against Tanzania, that's the first game on the 23rd.
06:55We go for that.
06:56We win that.
06:57Then we know that, okay, fine.
06:58At least we have a statement.
07:00Like you said, we are here to compete, not just to watch another.
07:03But then I'm not so confident when it comes to the Super Eagles.
07:05You know, you don't know what to expect.
07:07Yeah, exactly.
07:08You can have your hopes high these days.
07:09And so I'm still very much maybe skeptical, but I still feel like the team should win.
07:15Obviously now, Richel is in the spotlight more than he's ever done because he's handled the team
07:21now for a while.
07:22And there's also certain people who say, okay, you have to give him time.
07:26Now we've given him time.
07:28I think there's not been any more important assignment for Richel than this up to date.
07:35Couldn't qualify for the World Cup.
07:37Maybe that was not entirely his fault because, I mean, different coaches at different points
07:42of the qualifying campaign handled Super Eagles.
07:45But on this one, it's only right that, you know, he's judged by the performance of this team
07:52at the tournament.
07:52Yeah, definitely.
07:53I think this is going to go a long way, you know, on his career personally and also for the Super Eagles.
08:00He was unable to get the team to the World Cup, like you said.
08:02But then, like, we can't really blame him, you know.
08:05I think his stats are quite fair enough, you know.
08:07The loss was just due to the penalty shootout to Diahokongo.
08:11So this is a fresh start for him, a new tournament.
08:13And the very first one that he is taking the Super Eagles, he was with Mali the last time out.
08:18And of course, they did well.
08:19I think they got to the quarterfinals, you know, before they lost that one.
08:21And this is another time with another team.
08:23And I think we must also look at the dimension of the Super Eagles.
08:26He brought in quite a lot of interesting guys, you know, into the team.
08:29And I must say, I also commend that because we have, like you said, a lot of this current group
08:34will be retiring soon.
08:36Yeah.
08:36Some are eating their 30s.
08:38Yeah.
08:38Some will be in the next three years.
08:40So bringing those new guys up like Akinsomori and the likes.
08:43Yeah, you just mentioned one of the new guys.
08:45Let's talk about the new guys.
08:46You've got names that you probably have not heard before.
08:50Akinsomori is one of them.
08:51Yeah.
08:51Definitely was a protege for Beyond Limits at some point.
08:55Then broke out into Europe.
08:56Yeah.
08:57Certainly, this is one player to watch out for.
08:59Igbo Ogu, I hope I'm getting that name correct now.
09:02Yeah, Igbo Ogu.
09:03He's also a new player then.
09:05Salim Fargo is another player.
09:07You've not heard of these players.
09:08Alibio Surin.
09:09Ryan, I think, plays for Blackburn.
09:11Blackburn.
09:12You know, you've not heard of, you know, these players.
09:16What's your disposition to their inclusion?
09:19A lot of fans are divided in their opinion.
09:22But you want to also argue that the AFCON is where some stars have also platformed their abilities.
09:29Yeah.
09:30So where do you stand, really?
09:31Keep in mind, there was a certain, what's his name now, Mba, the year we won, the AFCON.
09:39AFCON 30th.
09:40And nobody knew.
09:40Nobody ever saw that coming.
09:41Nobody knew.
09:42But we have four new entrants who are really untested in the Super Eagles colors.
09:47You probably want to argue you want your most experienced hands.
09:52But what do you see happening with this squad?
09:55How do they affect, you know, Eric Chell's selection right now?
09:58Those four players.
09:59It's a very tricky one, as always.
10:01But then I feel like I'm in support of Eric Chell with this one.
10:04Because we went with the normal guys in the qualifiers for the World Cup.
10:09But where did that land us, you know?
10:11So I think sometimes we take away some of the opportunities that we should give to some of these
10:15guys who might be hungry, you know, to showcase what they've got.
10:19And I feel like these guys are young.
10:21Most of them are young in their early 20s and all that.
10:24And I feel like they will be ready to make a statement, you know, on the team.
10:28And ready to take their mark and place, you know, compete for place.
10:32So for the likes of Akinsu Moriwa and the likes and the people you mentioned earlier too,
10:36I feel it is a very good commendation.
10:39I think there's also Ebenezer Akkot, a very young goalkeeper, 15-year-old.
10:44That made the shot, you can imagine.
10:45So I think on that part, I really, really am with Eric on that.
10:50Okay, so the first task for the Super Eagles is Tanzania.
10:53Yeah.
10:54How do you see that shaping up just before we round off here on the show?
10:59We should win, no matter what.
11:00What kind of win?
11:01Comprehensive or just pick up?
11:03You are not so sure about Super Eagles, you know.
11:07But I feel we should have a comfortable win.
11:092-0.
11:092-0 win then.
11:10It is.
11:11Let's know what your take is on the prediction for the game.
11:14It's definitely happening in Morocco.
11:16And it kickstarts the Super Eagles campaign in Morocco.
11:20And they are trying to win their fourth title on the continent to become four-time African champions.
11:28Do let us know how far you think they can go as well as what the scoreline could be.
11:34And probably stand a chance to win something, you know, on the comment section.
11:39If I see your prediction and, of course, you sort of predict, right?
11:44Definitely will be watching.
11:46You never know.
11:46So, but then, let us know.
11:48Tell us your predictions in the comment section and definitely we will be following.
11:52You could also follow us across this Yuletide season into the new year as the African Cup of Nations
11:58will kickstart from the 21st December up until the 18th of January.
12:02We will be covering all of the action right here on Guardian TV.
12:05Thank you very much for watching this edition of the show.
12:07You can be part of the community by hitting the subscribe button and also tap in the notification
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12:20Okay.
12:20As always, it's been a pleasure.
12:22Always.
12:22We are now looking forward to the first game.
12:24Fingers crossed.
12:25Fingers crossed.
12:26And we'll see how that goes.
12:27My name remains Ayomide Daniels.
12:29Thank you very much for watching once again.
12:30I'll see you next time.
12:31Bye.
12:31Bye, guys.
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