National Teams
Afcon 2023: Nigeria 25-man squad is an unbalanced team – Sam Sodje
By Oyediji Oluwaseun Babatunde
The former Nigeria defender, Sam Sodje is of the view that the Super Eagles squad for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) is an unbalanced side.
The three-time African champions have been drawn to face Equatorial Guinea, Cote d’Ivoire, and Guinea Bissau in Group B of the competition slated to get underway on January 13, 2024.
Jose Peseiro’s side is one of the favourite to make it out of the group alongside hosts Ivory Coast and the West Africans are one of the favourite to claim a fourth title after previously winning the trophy in 1980, 1994, and 2013.
Sodje is not exuding confidence in the 25-player squad released by Peseiro to prosecute the competition.
“We are going to the AFCON with an imbalance squad, we are taking too many strikers, we are lacking that creativity in the midfield, where players can pass the ball forward and create chances to win games,” Sodje told Punch.
“We are going with too many side passes players, no disrespect to the players, and we’ve been conceding goals left, right and centre. We should stop that because a solid defence is the benchmark to win a tournament.
“Also, it is a well-known fact the problem we have in the goalkeeping department. So, if you put all these together, there are reasons to be worried, but we are fans of the Super Eagles and we will support them.”
Super Eagles will start their AFCON 2023 campaign against Equatorial Guinea on January 14, 2024, in Abidjan before facing Cote d’Ivoire and Guinea Bissau.
