Super Eagles stalwarts Ahmed Musa and Kenneth Omeruo are on the verge of becoming the only Nigerian players to ever win two Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) titles, should the Super Eagles defeat Côte d’Ivoire on Sunday.
It’ll be Nigeria’s eighth AFCON final as they take this last step to possibly win the competition for the fourth time, after last winning it in 2013 under Stephen Keshi, and with a squad that has Musa and Omeruo.
Sunday Mba’s lone goal ensured the Super Eagles defeated the Stallions of Burkina Faso 1-0 at the National Stadium in Johannesburg to win the 29th edition of the AFCON played in South Africa.
Kenneth Omeruo played all six games at the tournament, while Musa appeared in five of the team’s six matches in South Africa and scored a goal in the 4–1 semi-final victory over Mali.
Eleven years later, both veterans are now on the brink of achieving what the likes of Finidi George, Daniel Amokachi, Austine Jay Jay Okocha, Victor Ikpeba, Emmanuel Amuneke, Sunday Oliseh, and Mutiu Adepoju couldn’t on home soil in 2000, having earlier won the 1994 edition.
Omeruo has made five appearances for Nigeria at the AFCON 2023, mostly as a substitute, and also converted his penalty in Nigeria’s shootout victory over South Africa, while Musa—Super Eagles’ most capped player (with 109 caps) hasn’t featured in any of the games. The 31-year-old has been restricted to leading behind the scenes, instead, as explained by Sports Brief.
The 34th edition of AFCON presents itself as an opportunity for both Eagles to write their names in history books, but not without a victory over hosts Côte d’Ivoire who’ll be all out to avenge their group stage loss to Nigeria.
Côte d’Ivoire’s likely dent on Musa and Omeruo’s legacy
Ahead of the February 11 showdown at the Stade Olympique Alassane Ouattara in Abidjan by 9 pm (WAT), Dortmund’s Sebastian Haller has revealed revenge as the major motivation fuelling the Elephants’ aspirations.
Recall that Nigeria defeated the Côte d’Ivoire 1-0 courtesy of William Troost-Ekong’s penalty in the second round of games in Group A. The loss, coupled with their 4-0 humiliation at the hands of Equatorial Guinea condemned them to qualify only as one of the best losers of the group stage of AFCON 2023.
In a conversation with BeIn Sport, Haller said: “We are playing the (AFCON final) final against Nigeria. It is a great nation. It is heavy. They beat us in the group stage.”
“But we are already motivated to go and lift the trophy on Sunday in this stadium in front of the Ivorian people. We have revenge to take on Nigeria,” he concluded.
Musa and Omeruo aren’t expected to feature in the final, but they’ll be counting on their teammates to get the job done, and be a vital part of this historic victory.
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