Joe Aribo started in central midfield alongside Frank Onyeka at the Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny in Ivory Coast as Nigeria defeated Guinea-Bissau.
Super Eagles and Southampton midfielder, Joe Ayodele Aribo, has retained confidence in the team’s ability to score goals, Soccernet.ng reports.
Aribo, 27, has played twenty games for the Saints this season, starting seven and scoring just one goal before hopping on a flight to join the Super Eagles in Ivory Coast.
The former Rangers man came on in Nigeria’s 1-1 draw against Equatorial Guinea and started in the Super Eagles’ 1-0 win over Guinea-Bissau.
The highlight of the tournament for Jose Peseiro’s men has been scuffed chances, as they’re currently top of the most chances missed charts.
The team have scored three goals. One from Victor Osimhen, another from a dispatched spot-kick by William Troost-Ekong, and the third goal was an own goal by Guinea-Bissau’s Opa Sangante.
Aribo believes as time goes on, the goals will come for the Super Eagles, as there’ll be synergy as long as they play together as a team.
“I know as the tournament progresses, we’ll find the back of the net a lot more. One thing about us is that we are doing very well, keeping clean sheets and we’re strong and solid at the back,” the Southampton midfielder said in quotes revealed by Daily Echo.
Originally an attacking midfielder by trade, the former Charlton Atheltic man has featured in central midfield in his two appearances at the AFCON 2023 tournament.
