Nigeria lack quality to win AFCON, says Babayaro

Former Nigerian defender, Celestine Babayaro, believes that the lack of a good goalkeeper and quality defenders may hamper the chances of the Super Eagles winning a fourth Africa Cup of Nations title in Ivory Coast in January despite the team boasting one of the fearsome strikers in Europe, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

The 2023 AFCON will hold in Ivory Coast from January 13 to February 11, 2024.

The Eagles last won the AFCON 10 years ago in South Africa, defeating a star-studded Ivory Coast side in the quarter-finals, Mali and Burkina Faso on the way to glory in 2013.

The Eagles failed to qualify for the biennial tournament in 2015 and 2017 but managed to reach the semi-final at the 2019 edition in Egypt where they lost to eventual winners, Algeria.

Speaking with Owngoal, the former Chelsea defender admitted that the current Eagles squad was not balanced enough to compete for honours in Ivory Coast.

“You can’t win a tournament with attackers only,” Babayaro said.

“There is a popular cliché that attackers win you games but defenders win you titles. The current Eagles team is loaded in attack but light in quality in other departments.

“From a good goalkeeper which they don’t seem to have and a lack of quality defenders and midfielders, I can tell you that the team isn’t balanced enough to win the AFCON. It’s the painful truth that must be said.”

Nigeria will face Equatorial Guinea in their opening game on January 14 before taking on hosts, Ivory Coast who are currently on a five-game unbeaten run four days later.

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