AFCON 2023: Former South Africa star Dean Furman backs Nigeria to win African title

By Saheed Afolabi

Former South Africa star, Dean Furman has tipped Nigeria to win the ongoing 2023 Africa Cup Of Nations (AFCON) in Cote D’Ivoire

The Super Eagles is the only top rank team left in the continent’s premier football showpiece after the elimination of north Africa powerhouses Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt and Algeria as well as defending champions, Senegal.

The former Bafana Bafana skipper said he’s wary of the threat posed by Cape Verde highlighting their meetings with them previously in 2017, stressing that how Nigeria are taking the AFCON seriously.

“I don’t want to speak too soon because Cape Verde, we played them twice in 2017 in the World Cup qualifiers, we lost to them twice,” Furman was quoted by BBC.

“2013 AFCON opening game at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg, everyone expected us to win. It was a draw and if I’m honest, we should have lost that game so I’m not taking them lightly at all, it is going to be a very, very tough game but it is anyone’s.

“The so-called big nations, the fancied nation Nigeria are going about their work in an understated fashion but I think they are ticking on really nicely so I would have them down as the favourites right now.”

Super Eagles will hope to advance to the semifinal of the AFCON by displacing Angola in the quarter final on Friday at the Felix stadium, Abidjan.