Benin Republic captain Steve Mounie has said the Cheetahs are highly motivated for the crucial clash with the Super Eagles of Nigeria, reports Completesports.com.
Gernot Rohr’s side currently occupy top spot in Group C with 17 points from nine matches.
South Africa sit in second position with 15 points, while Nigeria are third on the log with 14 points.
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Mounie declared that they will fight hard to get maximum points against the Super Eagles.
“I don’t think i need to motivate my teammates that much. We all know what we are playing for tomorrow which is bigger than every Individual,” the forward told a press conference.
“Everyone know what we have to do tomorrow to get qualification. I don’t need to tell my teammates much. We will give our best on the pitch.”
The game will kick-off at 5pm Nigeria time.
By Adeboye Amosu
3 Comments
Hey finidi George and eguaveon this is where you guys brought this nation, imagine this one being bold to say he is going to beat super eagles at uyo,
There’s a Yoruba proverb that says, If a big problem brings you down, the smaller ones will use your body as a playground.” Sadly, that’s exactly where we are right now. Imagine— Benin Republic, confidently declaring that they’re “motivated to beat Nigeria in Nigeria.” The audacity! The sheer effrontery! A country that practically borrows our players, language, and even music for their national identity now thumping their chest at us like Goliath reincarnated. How did we fall this low?
Do these Super Eagles players even read these comments? And if they do, do they just scroll past like it’s a cooking tutorial? Because I honestly don’t get it. Where’s the pride? Where’s the anger? Where’s that fire that makes a Nigerian say, “No be my papa land you go use shine!” Keshi once weaponized insults—remember 2013? Yaya Touré and Eboué opened their mouths to run commentary on how they’d humble Nigeria, and the Eagles responded with football violence in the quarterfinals. No press conference threats, no Instagram captions — just a tactical demolition that made the Ivorians question their life choices.
So what changed? Why can’t this current generation of players tap into that same patriotic rage? Or is it because most of them were born abroad and don’t understand that when someone shades Nigeria, it’s personal? Because, truth be told, no homegrown Nigerian hears insult and keeps quiet. We don’t do “ignore them.” We do “watch me disgrace you in front of your ancestors.” But these ones? They act like the insults are motivational quotes.
And don’t even get me started on the South Africa episode. After all the noise Hugo Broos made before the Bloemfontein match — the man practically said we were overrated and lazy — our boys should have turned that stadium into a slaughterhouse. Instead, we got bossed around by a 19-year-old Mbokhasi like it was a school inter-house sport. And then, just to add pepper to the wound, South African fans trolled us afterward like we were guests on their comedy show.
So I ask again, with every ounce of frustration in my Nigerian soul — what exactly motivates these players? Because if national pride, public insults, and historic rivalry can’t do the trick, maybe we should start hiring stand-up comedians to taunt them before matches. At least, laughter might wake them up, since anger clearly doesn’t.
Ogaju! Mr. Motivator. Beat us if you can. Not your fault.