Former Nigeria captain Austin ‘Jay-Jay’ Okocha has the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations match between host country Ivory Coast and the Super Eagles will be determined by experience and desire to win.
Nigeria will be chasing their first win at the Olympic Stadium of Ebimpe on Thursday after they started their campaign in Abidjan with a 1-1 draw against Equatorial Guinea on Sunday.
Okocha who played in five AFCON tournaments with the Super Eagles, admitted that the encounter would be difficult and he disclosed that Jose Peseiro has enough qualities in his squad to get a win.
The former PSG and Bolton Wanderers told CAF Online: “Every match is difficult but when you play the host country, it is even more difficult. But, of course the beauty of football is that if you want to be champions, you have to win against the best.
“And as we know, in football, every match is difficult. If you are well prepared, you have a chance of winning your match. But, we Nigerians, we know that it will be a difficult match but also, we believe that we have enough potential to be able to win this match.
Okocha who is working as CAF Ambassador in Ivory Coast, added: “I think what the key will be is experience, desire and state of mind. For me, they are professionals, and they know the importance of this match, I think their mindset will be the key.”
Nigeria and Ivory Coast have previously faced each other six times in the Africa Cup of Nations with both countries having two wins each and a draw.
Their last AFCON encounter was in 2013 which Nigeria won 2-1 in the quarter-final stage.
