Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen has said he is ready to give his all to bring the AFCON trophy to Nigeria.
Osimhen has been one of the standout performers in the tournament as he helped the Eagles reach the quarter-finals.
It was his unrelenting pressing that saw him outmuscle a Cameroonian defender before setting up Ademola Lookman for the opener.
The reigning African Player of the Year has only scored one goal in this year’s AFCON which was against Equatorial Guinea.
Also Read: AFCON 2023: Cameroon Striker Ekambi Labels Super Eagles Solid Team
Now the Eagles striker has opened up on his desire to win the tournament with the current squad.
“I want to win something with this great squad,” he was quoted on Osasu Obayiuwana’s X handle.
“I want to give Nigeria something that they will remember. I’m giving everything to come home with the [AFCON] trophy.”
The Eagles will hope to forge ahead in the tournament when they take on Angola on Friday.
The Angolans trounced Namibia 3-0 to reach the last eight.
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COMMENTS
Very doable big man, if you can think it, you can surely achieve it, we all Nigerians soccer fans are solidly behind you guys, let’s go for the cup…Halla Super Eagle.
Osimhen has championship soul in his body , he is cambative, strong , has committment and dedication for the white and green jersy, I think he woll do itfor our beloved country Nigeria….
A Very Big mumu infact a gentle man who’s nickname is Okponu, Said that Defenders in this tournament are matching Osimhen strength for Strength and Pace for Pace that is why he is not scoring. lol
My Reply to Okponu was that no Defender is matching Osimhen in Strenght or Pace, Osimhen problem with goals is confidence and Handling the expectations of the Whole country and Media eyes on him to see if he lives up to his CAF APOY Award. Okponu then proceeded to call me names and insult me saying I am a lying and then being sarcastic and saying Oh yes, We all know that Osimhen is Stronger and Faster than Every player Sarcastically. after insults.
But Today Okponu is silent and Secretly hoping Nigeria Lose so he can crawl out of the gutter and have a reason to start insulting everyone on this Platform.
Lolz Ugo u no wel
Gentleman Can you now See that Nobody no defender can match this Player Osimhen with Strength and Certainly not Pace
Thumbs up Brotherman Ugo. Yes Osimhen is unplayable on his day.
It’s great to see that Peseiro’s philosophy is now fully taking shape into an effective winning strategy and fascinating product for fans to watch and savour.
Osimhen started a bit slow in the tournament but finally, the efficiency in Peseiro’s formation is finally unleashing and unlocking his huge potentials. Osimhen now uses his pace to press, probe and then pounce opposition defenders in a manner that unsettles them and creates opportunities for those around him. Osimhen is now getting the balance 100% right in when to be selfish and when to be selfless. Chukwueze can learn a thing or two from Osimhen in this regards.
Peseiro’s philosophy relies on long balls. These are excellently delivered from the centre backs particularly Ekong and Bassey. Ajayi on his own part provides more of aerial threats in set piece routines or when he chooses to drift into opposition 18 yard box.
The wingbacks also are key to this long ball approach. Aina has cemented himself to the Super Eagles starting 11 because he is unmatched in launching a variety of cross field long balls and old fashioned crossed from the flanks. This is an area where Zaidu needs to work on. He does deliver the long balls but I think Bruno Onyemaechi delivers better quality balls to complement Aina’s deliveries on the other side.
The two wingers, Lookman and Simon also provide intermittent crosses from or near the flanks which have produced a goal and several credible goal scoring chances. Chukwueze can do a lot better if he applies his game with greater maturity.
Iwobi tries to deliver long balls but these tend to be volley-type in nature and within a shorter range. Delivering long balls is not in Frank’s tool bag but Iwobi and Onyeka make up for this shortcoming with there fit-for-purpose short and nippy passes with excellent movements across the midfield.
Having 2 midfielders like Nwakali and Daniel Daga who can deliver long balls naturally will go some way in complementing this strategy in world cup qualifiers.
Through and driven passes are also a staple of this team particularly from midfield. This where Iwobi shines. Lookman, Simon, Chukwueze Aribo, Onyeka and Yusuf have delivered some truly telling driven passes in the tournament.
For defence, the Super Eagles create one bank of 4 in front of one bank of 5 players. I have to be honest, although this has frustrated opponents, the likes of Guinea Bissau and Ivory Coast still found a way round this blockade to trouble Nwabili at times – in fact Guinea Bissau scored a goal that was chopped off. Perhaps Peseiro’s boys watched those tapes and made this arrangement more fortified as it thoroughly shut out Cameroon.
In defence, Super Eagles are actually also attacking as Osimhen, Frank and Iwobi pick their moments to break out of the Super Eagles defensive wall to press opposition players into mistakes – like when Frank nicked the ball from Cameroon before running into their 18 yard box and being fouled and when Osimhen pressed the Cameroon defence into mistake (following a Cameroon throw in) for Nigeria’s second goal). So the Super Eagles are developing a deadly system to transition from defence to attack with militant precision.
The formation provides ample protection for the goalkeeper. Nigerian fans didn’t have to worry for the 20 minutes that Uzoho played because the 2 banks of 5 and 4 players in front of him did the heavier lifting in whipping Nigeria’s defensive apparatus into shape.
Now you have Paul Onuachu in a new role for the Super Eagles. If we have the one goal lead we need, Onuachu comes in to be a nuisance in wasting time for Nigeria, attempting useless but strategic dribbles that will frustrate the opposition and to do his best to keep the ball in opposition area.
Osayi-Samuel also comes in to drive into opposition areas with Omeruo keeping it tight in back.
It is truly a compelling product that seeks to frustrate oppositions, capitalise on this frustration to nick the odd goal and then shut up shop later on with aided with the introduction of a defensive minded nuisance of a centre forward in Onuachu who has abandoned his goals scoring intuitions in favour of helping to see the team retain its slim lead.
But Peseiro be warned! Climbing mount Everest might prove to be difficult, staying up there will be the most difficult of all.
Opponents, Angola, Morocco, Ivory Coast and Senegal, have now caught on to Nigeria’s strategy. When opponents caught on to Eguavoen’s freight train strategy 2 years ago, it was spectacularly derailed. No strategy in football is full proof.
Now I am looking and waiting with bated breath to see how Peseiro will attempt to outfox those planning to outfox him, starting with the game against Angola.
He, just like Eguavoen, have won the initial battles, will Peseiro be able to win the war where Eguavoen tried and failed?
We’ll soon find out.
For Peseiro, Frustrating is the name of his game!
Oppositions from now will find it difficult to beat Nigeria. The team is becoming extremely difficult to score against, and when they attack, it always appears like they are going to score, very scary pace from all angles when attack. They are already perfecting the system and by the time they hit the peak, trust me, they’ll be unstoppable.
Has anyone noticed this system is similar to what morrocco used at the last WC? Onyeka is performing the functioMn of Amrabat while Ola Aina is doing the Hakimi things. It’s a new dawn for te national team and this could revolutionize the way we play. As a matter of fact, the current team and the system they’ve adopted is an upgrade of the Super Falcons, who at the last WC, had a good defense outlay but were relatively poor going forward and converting chances. If the SFs had the attack the SEs currently parade,they would have easily destroyed England and possibly win the cup.
I’m optimistic and quite convinced that the only team that can beat them is the Super Eagles themselves.
Wow Papafem! Welcome on board to the Optimistic Fans Family. Your presence has been a long time coming. Funnily you have actually become more optimistic than me as I feel the game against Angola is 50/50 simply because I don’t know what their coach is cooking and how Peseiro will be able to vomit it!
Angola doesn’t stand a chance and us and I’ll tell you why!
They rely a lot on wing play, especially the left wing where Estrela and Dala operate. These guys carry Angolan strongest attacking threat with the support of thir captain. They rely a lot on speed and strength, but coming up against the Super Eagles will present a different challenge.
I don’t see their strikers getting behind our defence because it’s like a Trojan Fort with functional sentinels. Teams that rely on fast breaks have been having issues penetrating the current Nigerian formation because it’s like certain players in that Super Eagles’ defense have been instructed not to cross the centre line!
Again, most Angolan passes come from Show and Fredy. They will meet their waterloo in Onyeka and Bassey. And while I acknowledge that their defence led by Gaspar is good, on a good day, they will struggle with the combo of Osimhen and Lookman. But our wing backs should watch out. Gilberto and Dala are so dangerous. I trust the duo of Aina and Zaidu to do a good job though.
What if Angola decides to play with a low block and yield a lot of possession to us …on two occasions in this competition, we didn’t deal with that well
When our forwards start scoring freely, this team will be on another level.
A team that scores goals, and is difficult to score against = CHAMPION.
However, all focus must be on Angola for now. Let’s take it one game at a time.