Julius Aghahowa: Former Nigeria star warns Super Eagles ahead of 2023 AFCON

By Oyediji Oluwaseun Babatunde

Former Nigeria international, Julius Efosa Aghahowa has issued a stern warning to the Super Eagles ahead of next year’s African Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Ivory Coast.

The West Africans have been enduring a slow patch of form with two straight draws with Lesotho and Zimbabwe in their first two games of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.

And the former Shakhtar Donetsk player said every country on the continent is aware of the potential of the Nigerian players and urged them to be physically and mentally prepared.

” The players are in Europe which is easier because everybody is playing the same style, but coming to Africa to play and vie for major tournaments like World Cup qualifiers or AFCON, we are not going to have it easy,” Aghahowa told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

“Our players need to have it at the back of their minds that it will be difficult to match and be well prepared. Once they sort that out, the rest will be history.

“The players can do it, and I believe in them, but that commitment and resilience the game is a must-win should be added to their mentality.”

The Super Eagles will face Ivory Coast, Guinea Bissau, and Equatorial Guinea in Group A at next year’s AFCON.

The three-time African kings will hope to win their fourth AFCON title in Ivory Coast after crashing out on the Round of 16 the last time out.

Triumphs in 1980, 1994, and 2013 are the occasions the West African side won the title under the tutelage of Oto Gloria, Clemens Westerhof, and Stephen Keshi.

Jose Peseiro is expected to lead the team to the next AFCON as a foreign coach with two out of the team’s three titles coming under foreign tacticians.