The Super Eagles of Nigeria will battle for their 60th victory at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) when they clash with the Carthage Eagles of Tunisia today at Fez Stadium in Morocco today.
The two African football giants will face-off in their second Group C game of the ongoing AFCON. Both teams won their first games against Tanzania and Uganda respectively.
While Nigeria defeated the Taifas Stars 2-1, the North Africans saw off the Ugandans 3-1 to climb to the summit of the group ahead of the game against Nigeria. The Tunisians eliminated Nigeria at the 2021 AFCON in Cameroon, in the round of 16 despite Nigeria going into the game as clear favourites. Prior to that, Nigeria defeated them in the third place in the 2019 edition in Egypt.
History between the two is tight. In the last seven games, they have drawn five, won one game each and recorded the same number of defeat. Also, the West Africans would be targeting their 150th goal in AFCON history.
The team hit their 148th goal in their 2-1 victory over Tanzania in their Group C opener last Tuesday in Fez.
Meanwhile, speaking at the pre-match press conference on Friday, Ndidi revealed that he and his teammates spoke about the elimination of Nigeria from the tournament four years ago and vowed that it would not happen again.
“It was a painful loss in 2021. But it gives us more confidence. When we talked about it, the guys were really, really prepared,” Ndidi said.
“We don’t want to think about what happened; we just want to face this one because it is definitely a new team, with good players and a good group.
“So yes, we have spoken about it, and we actually talked about it earlier. Hopefully, it is not going to happen twice.”
“It’s about growth, a new generation, and we are actually here to set our own standards. We are here to achieve our goals — that’s why we are here.”
