Global Senses

The 34th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations kicks off on Saturday, January 13th, 2024, in Ivory Coast and the stage is set for the Super Eagles to finally fly again.

No doubt; this competition boasts massive talents from all the 24 participating national teams. The defending Champions, Senegal, with their prolific captain, Sadio Mané, will be ready to mount a serious title defense. Morocco will be ready to prove themselves again as arguably the best team on the continent after their heroic run at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Meanwhile, the old powerhouses of Ghana, Cameroon, Egypt, Algeria, and the hosts, Côte d’Ivoire, will be represented by top talents from the best leagues in the world and ready to stake their claim for continental glory.

However, no team seems to be better well-positioned to take home the winner’s medal than Nigeria. They will be led by the reigning African Player of the Year and Serie A topscorer, Victor Osimhen. The goal-machine will be supported in attack with a solid cast from the same league, including AC Milan and Atalanta sensations, Samuel Chukwueze and Ademola Lookman. Regardless of the surprises of the tournament, we should at least expect Nigeria to entertain and score tons of goals.

A decade ago when Nigeria won the AFCON, they boasted talents like Vincent Enyeama, Ahmed Musa, John Obi Mikel, Victor Moses, and others. There is no doubt that the current version of the Super Eagles have enough talent and hunger to fly the green and white colors up high again.

There have been major surprises in this tournament in the past. There will be this time around as well. Despite a few significant absences, I’m still riding with Osimhen and the Super Eagles.