By Ken Afor
Nigeria’s President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has urged the country’s senior men’s national football team – the Super Eagles to up their game as they face Cameroon on Saturday in the round of 16 at the 34th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Ivory Coast.
This message was conveyed to the team by the Minister of Sports, John Enoh, who spoke to the players via Zoom on Wednesday night.
It would be recalled that the Super Eagles commenced their AFCON campaign with a 1-1 draw against Equatorial Guinea on January 14.
Subsequently, they secured a 1-0 victory against hosts Ivory Coast and clinched their spot in the round of 16 with a lone goal against Guinea-Bissau last Monday.
Weighing in, the Minister of Sports mentioned that the President wasn’t too impressed with the team’s performance, but he hopes they will perform better in the knockout stage of the competition.
He said, “I had a meeting with the President yesterday. I went to the villa for something else and the President cornered me and said we (Eagles) managed to qualify and I said that’s how we are going to keep going until we win the tournament.
“He said that I should tell the players that he wasn’t too impressed with the last match but he knows that now that they are off the group stages, they are going to impress him more.
“That’s what the President told me and it means that the President is actually watching your matches. Would you believe this? And the President is urging you and also showing an understanding of the game because he knows that there is a lot of caution at the group stage and from the round of 16, you are going to be more impressive.
“I remember that in 2022 in Cameroon, Egypt as a country struggled to qualify but they went ahead to play the finals.”
In his response, team captain Ahmed Musa expressed gratitude to the sports minister but also called on the President to be at the stadium as they play against Cameroon, emphasizing the positive impact it would have as motivation.
The Super Eagles will play the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon in the last 16 of the tournament on Saturday at the Felix Houphouet -Boigny Stadium in Abidjan.
