Nigeria will be favourites should they make it to the continental championship next year, and the team is well-placed to qualify, needing just a point from their remaining two group games
Everton star Alex Iwobi is convinced that the Super Eagles have the quality to qualify for and win the Africa Cup of Nations to be hosted by Cameroon in 2022.
The Gernot Rohr-tutored side have won two and drawn two of their four group games played so far to sit top of Group L with eight points.
However, the unthinkable can still happen if the Benin Republic and Lesotho defeat the three-time African champions in games to be played in the last four days in March.
But Iwobi is confident that despite the disappointment of managing two disappointing draws against Sierra Leone last November, the Super Eagles have the resources to guarantee that qualification ticket to Cameroon 2022.
“The positive you can take is we are still on course to be top of the table, so we are confident we have the quality to do so and put 100% for 90 minutes this time, so we can qualify,” the 24-year-old told BBC Sport Africa.
A former England youth international, Iwobi switched allegiance to play for Nigeria, featuring for the Super Eagles at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia and the 2019 Afcon in Egypt.
The midfielder was one of Nigeria’s heroes in Egypt, where the Super Eagles made it to the semifinals before succumbing to eventual champions Algeria.
Iwobi states his desire to relive that experience and possibly power the country to her fourth continental honours.
“The opportunity I was given last time to be involved in that competition, I want that feeling again.
“If you are in a competition, you want to win it, [and] I believe us players feel we have the quality to do so. We’d like to play in the best competitions and win them, so we have to prove that against Lesotho and Benin.”
Nigeria travel to Porto Novo on March 27 to face the Benin Republic before playing host to Lesotho in Lagos four days later.
This post was last modified on March 9, 2021 10:26 am