Super Eagles winger Alex Iwobi says the team is very ready for their AFCON 2019 semifinal clash against the Desert Foxes of Algeria, reports Completesports.com.
The three-time champions will face the Algerians in the last four clash on Sunday a the Cairo International Stadium.
Algeria edged out Cote d’lvoire 4-3 on penalties in a tightly contested encounter on Thursday. The game ended in a 1-1 draw in regulation time.
Djamel Belmadi’s men are the overwhelming favourites to win the competition, but Iwobi insists the Super Eagles will be up to the challenge.
“Algeria, we know their quality especially with Riyad Mahrez in their squad. They also have some good players too, but we are Super Eagles. We don’t have to be afraid of any team,” Iwobi told Completesports.com.
“The spirit in camp is good and we a are working hard in training for the game. We played against two top teams in our last two games which has sharpened us up for the task ahead of us.
“Some people believe Algeria are the best team in the competition at the moment, but we will prove them wrong at the end of the game. ”
The the Algeria – Nigeria game will kick off at 8pm Nigerian time on Sunday.
By Adeboye Amosu (pix: by Ganiyu Yusuf) in Cairo
12 Comments
Yea! The spirit of 9ja strong! Fearless SuperEagles. You guys have what it takes to dump the Algerians into third place fixture, all you need is hard work,full commitment and concentration. You did it against Cameroon and the South Africans, you can do it again! #SoarEagles
I agree with you.
Welcome back bro @ashy slashy i missed ur beautiful romance with my real guy Drey… lol
Great work by the team so far, we now have groove back not that it was ever lost. Please GR come out and tell d world that Algeria is the overwhelming favourite just to give dem a false sense of security whereas in your dressing room and training sessions u tell ur boys that they are d best and no one including d algerians can stop them. Do u guys ever wonder why GR might say something kind media like we are not favorite, or it’s ok we lost to Madagascar but when our boys talk it’s completely different. I could recall d hurt in all the players voices when they lost to Madagascar, or when GR might say Cameroon is better, only for our boys to be do d talking on d field. He says different things to d media as to give d other team a false sense of superiority but tells his troops to go out there and win d war and which d boys have fought gallantly and won impressively I must say.
One tin I will add regarding the match against Algeria, to me when people were saying Morocco was d best team or favorite to win dis afcon I laffed cos I knew d north African team wasn’t Morocco or Egypt but Algeria. The have better and more tactical players than the other north African teams. Egypt has Salah who else, Morocco has Ziyach who else? Mahrez is in dsame category as those 2 (Salah and Ziyach) but d different is d compliment of players Algeria has compared to them. 9ja needs to be very careful against this algerian team, several players can hurt u, they have ounas of Napoli if am not mistaken, dia #8 and 9 are a huge threat, fegouli is there as well. They are very well organized too, they have a strong midfield as well, so anyone thinking cos we beat them in d nations cup qualifiers we are going to beat dem silly again is deluding themselves dsame way SA tot cos dey beat us in uyo they can repeat the same feat at d afcon. Like someone said nina previous thread, 2 yrs ago is a very long time, I get am b4 no be property. Complacency will cost 9ja d game if we think along d line that cos we beat dem last time we will beat them again. The team is completely different and there is stability indeed team too. A team where Brahimi and Bentaleb are perpetual bench warmers should tell u d kind of quality this team has.
All dat been said, I still see my darling SE carrying the day. Our boys need to be 110% focused and for 120 mins. Won’t be a bad idea to work on our penalty taking as any match from d 2nd round onwards has d potential in ending in penalties. My humble opinion
I have seen Algeria in this competition and I will confess they pose a big threat to our ambitions of winning this tournament.
They are very comfortable on the ball,they have amazing flair with great 1 2 passes sleek with great understanding.Their conversation rate is high as well creativity.
Honestly,I was hoping Ivory Coast won because they would have been a much easier opposition by what I have seen in this competition.
I hope our coach comes up with a plan to neutralise this good Algerian team.
Wishing our super eagles victory on Sunday.
We will beat Algeria, I am confident of that especially with the last 2 games that we’ve played, those games have sharpened the boys and given Rohr a good indication of the best team and the most useful subs to come off the bench as well. My wish is that the Tunisians should win their semi so that we can meet them rather than Senegal in the final. I would be more wary of Senegal than Tunisia, if this pans out as I have laid out then we can be sure that the SE will carry the day. USE!
Algeria is a good team. A very good team. Very fluid in transition from defence to attack. And in Mahrez and Feghouli, they have individuals who can wreck havoc. Having said that, Nigeria is getting better with each game. It will be a very tough game on Sunday, but Nigeria has what it takes to win it. Iwobi and the others will need to hunker down, focus, and grind out the result. Whenever Iwobi plays well, Nigeria prospers. Because Iwobi is the link man. The distributor in chief. And he also plays the role of second striker, which Ighalo needs. So, I am hoping that Iwobi has a good day at the office. Also, the wingers have shown that they can get behind opposing defences. If they can get the final ball right, we will score goals. Finally, although the stats reveal otherwise, our defence has been ok. Conceding 5 goals in 5 matches may be something to frown at. However, all 5 goals came from lapses in concentration and sheer misfortune. Having said that, the defense has been ok, and if we just maintain the levels we saw against Cameroun and SA, we should be alright. Ndidi and Etebo will need to put in a good shift. These two have what it takes to boss the middle of the park.
Win or lose, the team has done well. The minimum target of semifinal has been reached. However, as a fan, I want the team to reach for the ultimate prize! We are almost there!
You said it all. While watching d game, i was hoping d ivorians win . I felt d Algerians would be much difficult.
What did u mean my people ivorians would have been more difficult,algerians will fall 2moro believe me,the trophy is coming to Abuja,up SE
I know our own super eagles have what it take to lift the trophy..We are not scared of Algeria..we will beat them 2:1
The Game is gonna be tough, so much strenghts from both teams fighting with their last blood, very tactical on the pitch and difficult match to wine but at last we made it… To God Be The Glory and congratulation Nigerians!!!
I watched the highlights of Algeria vs Ivory coast and with what I saw in that match, by God’s grace, I’m expecting 3-0 to 2-0 from Nigerian team.
With our performances against Cameroon and South Africa, I have no pressure on me for Sunday’s match. By God’s grace, we are winning this tournament.
This is our time I believe. God bless Nigeria!!!