Atalanta of Italy winger, Ademola Lookman has stated satisfaction with his new role of ‘playing in the hole’ between the Super Eagles’ midfielders and strikers, as it helps him get closer to the opponents’ goalmouth.
Sports247 reports that Lookman’s two assists and a goal in Saturday’s 3-2 victory over Tunisia took him top of the scorers’ charts at the ongoing 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, but he believes more will come.
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The former Charlton Athletic, Fulham, Everton and Leicester City of England dazzler, who previously had two stints at RB Leipzig of Germany, praised the Eagles’ performance against the Tunisians, who he admitted fought back gamely.
The 2024 African Footballer of The Year recalled, “Our performance was good, but Tunisia also played well. They had about 15 minutes of a quick spell, and they scored two goals.
“Apart from that, we can be proud of ourselves; but we know there’s still stuff that we have to improve on. The most important thing is to keep on working hard.”
He also acknowledged that the last 15 minutes of Saturday’s game were quite nerving for the Eagles but reasoned further that their ability to weather the storm and still win the tough game was a strong pointer to their top quality in the tournament.
Lookman, who now has ten goals in 36 Eagles’ games, added, “Everybody in the stadium was in suspense, and they didn’t know what was going to happen at the end.
“For us, we tried to stay calm and focused within those tense moments. We stayed together as a team and tried to make the right decisions under pressure.
“We got the victory and three points on the board. Those were the most important things from that game.”
The former England youth international, who won the 2007 FIFA U20 World Cup with his country of birth, before switching allegiance to Nigeria in 2022, ended with a pledge of more commitment to the Super Eagles, for which he is ready to play any position the coach gives him.
He pledged, “I am ready to play anywhere that can help the team. I try to do my best in any position. Playing in the hole brings me closer to the goal and into more dangerous areas.
“It brings me closer to the defenders and makes me more dangerous to attack the opponents better. I just try to find the right spaces to receive the ball and hurt the opponent.”
