Izuchukwu Okosi
Super Eagles goalkeeper Maduka Okoye is upbeat that the three time African champions will reach the round of 16 stages of the Africa Cup of Nations after a win against Sudan this evening.
Nigeria are expected to claim all three points against the Falcons of Jediane in their second Group D match of the tournament and Okoye spoke to Nigeria Football Federation TV (NFF TV) ahead of the match.
“First of all, i’m looking forward to three points and then clean sheet is always good. It’s a sign of good defending and competitive team, yes we will be good,” the Sparta Rotterdam goalie who will join Premier League struggles Watford next season affirms.
“It was good performance against Egypt. I think we competed well, it was a collective performance. We need to stick to this level and we can beat anybody.
“We have set a high bar and we need to stick to it. We need to keep working hard and avoid distraction,” Okoye, who is younger brother to Nigeria’s music sensations Paul and Peter Okoye of the Psquare fame stated.
Nigeria are leading the Group with three points, while Sudan sit third in the table with one point after a scoreless draw with Guinea-Bissau on Tuesday.
Okoye recorded clean clean sheet on his debut in the tournament when Super Eagles beat Egypt 1-0 on Tuesday, stopping Mohamed Salah from equalising when the Pharaohs.
Meanwhile Prime Business Africa scooped that the starting lineup is likely to be unchanged from the one faced Egypt with interim coach Austin Eguavoen keen to keep faith with the same players.
Barring any last minute changes, central defender Kenneth Omeruo has recovered from the injury that forced his replacement on Tuesday and is set to slot in alongside William Troost Ekong.
Chidozie Awaziem who may have been preferred in the event of Omeruo not being match fit is ruled out of the match with an ankle complaint albeit coach Eguavoen did reveal in the press conference prior to today’s encounter that the defender is expected to back soon.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
