The Super Eagles have been rated with a 50/50 chance of returning from the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco with the trophy, but the players must work hard in order to improve their chances of winning the final early next year.
Sports247 reports that this down-to-earth verdict came from a youngster and current captain of United Squad Football Academy of Kosofe, Lagos, Isiaka Adewale Abiodun, who reckoned further that the Eagles must add determination to their skills in order to become champions of Africa.
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He also urged Nigerians to pray that Galatasaray of Turkey striker Victor Osimhen would not suffer any injury during the competition, as he believes the 2023 African Footballer of The Year is the Eagles’ biggest asset for victory.
Abiodun, who plays as a striker and adores the style of former Chelsea of England hitman, Didier Drogba, aired his views during ‘Athlete’s Corner’ on ‘Inside Naija Sports,’ a live streaming programme via YouTube, from the studio of Sports247 Naija TV, starting at 11:45am every Friday.
The fast-rising attacker added, “I will say it’s a 50% possibility for Nigeria at this coming AFCON. I won’t say we can’t win it … because anything can happen.
“You can get there, and something can change. This is football, and everybody knows it can sometimes be funny.
“You may start thinking that we can’t win, and then they get there to surprise us. The only problem is that we rely too much on Victor Osimhen.”
The dark-skinned striker, who also loves the skilful style of former Liverpool of England striker, Fernando Torres, went further by giving reasons why he gives the Eagles only a half chance of winning AFCON 2025.
“The possibility of us winning this cup is not certain, because we don’t have players who work hard for victory. We have the like of (Ademola) Lookman, (Alex) Iwobi, (Wilfred) Ndidi and so on, but the main problem is that they all see themselves as ‘big boys.’
“They don’t want to play with all their strength, the way we do in grassroots football. They believe that, since they are playing for big clubs in Europe, they have gained it all.
“They are not thinking of helping their country. Things they cannot do at their clubs due to discipline, they will do it in the Super Eagles, because they believe they have arrived at the top,” Abiodun reasoned.
He concluded by advocating the same die-hard mentality of Osimhen for all players in Nigeria’s AFCON 2025 squad, with a hint that any approach that falls short of the Galatasaray star’s all-action style would simply leave the Eagles returning home empty handed in January.
“It’s only Osimhen that gives 100% effort in that team, and he gives it for 90 minutes. All our other players have to do the same.
“We have some of the best players in Africa. They even won the previous two African Player of The Year awards in 2023 and 2024.
“They all play well at their clubs but, when it’s time to do it for their country, they always relax. They do that because they think they have arrived – but they can’t win AFCON with that type of mentality,” Abiodun stressed.
