Victor Osimhen, the most recent African Player of the Year, is a star on a mission. His goal is to turn the anguish of Nigerian fans into happiness by winning the Africa Cup of Nations.
The Napoli attacker became the first Nigerian winner since Nwankwo Kanu in 1999 when he won the African vote last month, finishing ahead of Moroccan Achraf Hakimi and Egyptian Mohamed Salah.
It was a prize for scoring regularly for the Super Eagles and assisting his team in winning their first Italian championship in thirty-three years.
The 24-year-old, who as a youngster made ends meet by selling newspapers and water bottles on the busy streets of Lagos, was not without grief, however, despite his achievements.
The events of March 29, 2022, in the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, have plagued Osimhen for a very long time.
Prior to that, Nigeria played a 0-0 draw in the first of two games against their longstanding regional rivals, Ghana, to determine whether the Black Stars of Super Eagles would go to the 2022 World Cup.
Expectations were high that the home team would make good use of their advantage and earn a spot in the finals in Qatar as Nigerian fans packed to the national stadium.
However, their hopes were dashed when Ghana drew 1-1 to advance on away goals and deny Osimhen and his colleagues a chance to compete internationally.
Osimhen told reporters, “We could not have asked for more from our supporters in Abuja that night,” just before departing Italy to join the Cup of Nations team.
“Demolish them.”
From the first whistle to the last, they cheered us on. They made an unbearable amount of noise. nonetheless, it pained that we let them down. Better was due to Nigerians.”
Now that the fans’ sorrow is still there, Osimhen thinks he has the ideal solution: Nigeria has to win the biannual Cup of Nations four times.
The Super Eagles defeated Algeria 3-0 at home in 1980 and went on to win 2-1 in Tunis in 1994 and 1-0 in Johannesburg in 2013 against Burkina Faso.
Nigeria has had a wild ride at the Cup of Nations since defeating Burkinabe; they finished third in 2019 and made it to the last 16 two years ago, but failed to qualify in 2015 and 2017.
Nigeria is anticipated to compete for first place with the hosts in the first round of Group A alongside Ivory Coast, Guinea-Bissau, and Equatorial Guinea.
Each group’s top two teams go to the next round, while the top four teams out of the six teams in third place also advance.
“We are capable of winning this tournament because the squad is packed with players who are performing exceptionally well for their European clubs,” Osimhen asserts.
“We’re all keen to make up for missing out on the World Cup in 2022. We can only accomplish that ambition if we win the Cup of Nations.”
Ivory Coast, who have won twice but lost the tournament when they hosted it 40 years ago, is a squad full of talent, and Algerian coach Djamel Belmadi claims that “they are the team to beat.”
Ivory Coast coach Jean-Louis Gasset adds, “We will have the support of the entire Ivory Coast nation, which is an incredible asset to have.”
Workmanlike Equatorial Guinea has advanced to the next round in each of its three prior tournament visits, while Guinea-Bissau, which emerged victorious in a Nigerian 2024 qualifier, is aiming for their first-ever finals triumph.