Former Super Eagles’ attacking midfielder, Mutiu Adepoju, has charged players in the present squad to turn Nigeria’s current period of mourning into dances of joy at the forthcoming Africa Cup of Nations, Sports247 reports.
Adepoju (aka Headmaster) acknowledged that the Eagles’ failure to qualify for next year’s FIFA World Cup is still hurting all Nigerians, but quickly pointed out that there would be a consolation if they win their fourth AFCON title.
Read Also: Calvin Bassey Rates Osimhen On Same Level With Erling Haaland | Sports247 Nigeria
The former Shooting Stars of Ibadan icon, who played for Compostela, Real Madrid-B and Real Sociedad of Spain during his heyday, further pointed out that the Eagles must now turn their attention fully on the AFCON assignment.
Mutiu averred, “We don’t have to be brooding over something that has gone. We just have to move on from the setback of missing a second straight World Cup.
“The next one to focus on now is the AFCON, and I believe that they would have learnt a big lesson from what happened in the World Cup qualifiers.”
The ex-international, who is now La Liga Ambassador in Nigeria, noted that Eagles’ coach, Eric Chelle on Tuesday released a provisional list of 55 invited players and urged them to hit the ground running immediately they enter the camp on December 10th in Egypt.
“I believe when they get back to the camp, they will go all out so that they will be firing at the AFCON. It’s not going to be easy, because other countries also want to win the title.
“But, I believe, if we put in everything that we have, we can do better this time than we did at the last edition,” Adepoju reasoned.
He concluded on a note of optimism that the Eagles will take one step further this time out than they did during their surge to the final at the previous continental showpiece in Ivory Coast.
“At the last AFCON, we got to the final but lost. So, this one should be the time to make Nigerians happy and help us get over the mourning that we are still having for not going to the World Cup,” Adepoju rationalised.
