Nigeria captain Ahmed Musa has assured that they will make a statement when they begin their quest for glory at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
The Super Eagles will take on Equatorial Guinea for their opening Group A fixture at the Olympic Stadium of Ebimpe on Sunday with the ambition of clinching a third continental crown.
Musa was part of the victorious 2013 squad in South Africa, scoring a goal in Nigeria’s 4-1 defeat of Mali in the semi-final and he is anticipating a tough road to glory in Ivory Coast.
“It is always interesting to play in the Africa Cup of Nations. I was a champion in 2013, same as (defender Kenneth) Omeruo,” Musa told the NFF media.
“However, the rest of the team want to have that feeling of what it means to win the Africa Cup of Nations. Everyone is geared towards making a statement.
“We are ready. This is a group that loves to compete, and we will give this match, and this competition generally, our very best.
“It is not going to be a picnic. The teams in our group, including Equatorial Guinea that we play tomorrow, are strong and ambitious as well. It is for us to go all out for the three points in each of our games, and then take it from there in the knock-out rounds. We will take it one match at a time.”
The Sivasspor winger is among the attacking options available for Jose Peseiro on Sunday with OGC Nice’s Terem Moffi yet to report to camp while Trabzonspor’s Paul Onuachu and Leicester City’s Kelechi Iheanacho arrived in Abidjan on Saturday morning.
Moffi and Onuachu were called in late as replacements for injured Victor Boniface and Sadiq Umar respectively while Iheanacho fully recovered from a minor injury.
