Former Super Eagles’ striker, Odion Jude Ighalo is singing praises for rave of the moment, Akor Jerome Adams, who scored Nigeria’s last goal in Monday’s 4-0 victory over Mozambique, as he says the Sevilla of Spain hitman is ‘sacrificing himself’ for the national team.
Sports247 reports that Ighalo’s declaration comes against the backdrop of energetic decoy runs and passes Adams has been giving his teammates during the ongoing 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.
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Ighalo, who is working as a television analyst during Nigeria’s matches at AFCON 2025, reckoned that Adams has been underrated because he has not scored as many goals that are expected of him as a joint-striker in the Eagles’ attack.
However, the former Watford and Manchester United striker, who was top scorer at AFCON 2019 in Egypt with five goals, pointed out that Adams has worked hard for Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman instead of seeking goals for himself.
Incidentally, one of Ighalo’s goals at AFCON 2019 was a 72nd minute penalty he scored against Algeria in the semi-final, which Nigeria lost 2-1, after a 40th minute own goal by William Troost-Ekong and a last minute direct free kick was converted by Riyard Mahrez.
Dramatically, the Eagles will on Saturday battle Algeria in the quarter-finals of AFCON 2025 and Ighalo is tipping Benue-born Adams, who will clock 26 years old on January 29th, to make hay during the upcoming encounter.
He reckoned that the product of Jamba Football Academy of Makurdi, who has previously played for Songdal and Lillestrom of Norway as well as Montpellier of France, can make a lot of difference for Nigeria with his energy and powerful shooting.
“He has been working so hard, even giving an assist and sacrificing himself for the team. When the chance came, he took it and hit it very hard. So, I am happy for him he got a goal.
“Not all strikers have speed. Akor is the kind of striker that likes to keep the ball. He likes to bully and fight. Every time, he always tries to fight, and when he gets the chance he shoots,” Ighalo pointed out.
Sports247 reports further that Adams, who now has three goals in eight international appearances, is expected to twinkle again versus Algeria on Saturday in Marrakech.
The fast-rising hitman, who scored on his debut versus Lesotho last October in the ill-fated World Cup qualifiers, is expected to concentrate fully on Saturday’s tie, after learning on Wednesday that his mum had been discharged from hospital.
He initially took official permission on Tuesday to see her for an hour then quickly returned to camp, in order to meet up with evening training, ahead of the impending quarter-finals fixture in Marrakech.
