By Daily Sports Nigeria on January 9, 2024

Former Super Eagles striker and 2013 AFCON winner, Brown Ideye, says the team has no excuse not to win the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

The 34th edition of the biennial tournament holds from January 13 to February 11.

It’s been 11 years since Nigeria last won the AFCON title and the Eagles are raring to break the duck in Ivory Coast.

Since then, the country failed to qualify for two consecutive editions in 2015 and 2017.

On their return in 2019, they settled for another third-place finish and were knocked out by Tunisia in the round of 16 the last time out in Cameroon in 2021.

Ideye was a regular member of Nigeria’s squad that won the tournament in South Africa 2013 and he scored the Eagles second goal in their 4-1 semi-final win over Mali, while he also played in their 1-0 win over Burkina Faso in the final.

He believes the current team is better poised to win the tournament again for Nigeria after 10 years.

“No excuses this time because this squad has what it takes to win it,” Ideye said via his new X account.

In the final lap of their preparations for the AFCON in Dubai, Jose Peseiro’s men, however, showed no signs of positivity, losing 2-0 to Guinea in a friendly game on Monday. Before then, they whitewashed a local Dubai club 12-0 in a training game.

Their one-week camping in the United Arab Emirates ended with a disappointing friendly as the team arrived in Lagos on Tuesday (today) ahead of their departure for Ivory Coast on Wednesday.

Source Punch Ng

Posted January 9, 2024

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