In the new year, the first international tournament of a blockbuster 2024 will take place when the Africa Cup of Nations kicks off in the Ivory Coast on January 13th. The hosts will get things underway as they welcome Guinea-Bissau to the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan before Nigeria faces off against Equatorial Guinea in the same stadium the very next day in a heavyweight-looking Group A. The Super Eagles have actually qualified for the tournament this time around, unlike three of the last six AFCONs, despite being one of the perceived stronger teams on the continent.

Reputable sportsbooks will be providing both live betting and prematch options on the tournament right through from the curtain raiser up until the February 11th showpiece, and there are a number of teams that are considered frontrunners. Morocco became the first African team in history to reach the semifinals of a World Cup in 2022, and they are amongst the favorites however, it is reigning champions Senegal who are the outright +600 favorite.

Nigeria are listed at +1000, meaning the bookies certainly consider them as contenders. But how have they fared on their last few trips to the tournament?

2021 – Beaten in the Second Round

Let’s start with the most recent tournament, AFCON 2021. Nigeria qualified for the tournament, and the expectations were high. Unfortunately, they fell well short of them and crashed out in the Round of 16, eliminated by Tunisia following a 1-0 defeatcourtesy of Youssef Msakni’s goal at the Roumdé AdjiaStadium. Many fans felt let down as they had high hopes for their national team. Despite the team putting up a strong fight, they couldn’t find a way through.

2019 – Beaten in the Semifinal

Back in 2016, Nigeria returned to the Africa Cup of Nations after six years away. They inexplicably didn’t manage to qualify for either the 2015 or 2017 installments of the competition and they were about to prove that they meant business. But a shock 2-0 defeat to Madagascar in their final group game meant that they would have a more difficult second-round contest on their hands after finishing as group runners-up.

Despite being underdogs, the Super Eagles shocked Cameroon in the second round. They rallied from 2-1 down in the second half and goals from Premier League duo Odion Ighalo and Alex Iwobi secured safe passage to the quarterfinals. There, they would meet South Africa, who had stunned hosts Egypt in the previous round. Nigeria would successfully get the victory thanks to a last-gasp strike from William Troost-Ekong, but that was as good as things would get as they were dumped out in the semifinals thanks to a 95th-minute winner from Algeria’s Riyad Mahrez

2013 – Winners

The fact that Nigeria didn’t qualify in 2015 and 2017 is all the more baffling considering the fact that they went all the way and won the tournament in 2013. That year, the Super Eagles had a slow start to the tournament, drawing their first two matches against Burkina Faso and Zambia. However, they stepped up their game when they needed to, winning their final group game courtesy of two Victor Moses penalties.

Just as they did six years later, Nigeria had a more challenging matchup in the quarterfinals but a late Sunday Mba strike secured a 2-1 victory over the heavily favoured Ivory Coast. Mali stunned everyone en route to the semifinals but there they were no match for the Super Eagles. Goals from Elderson Echiéjilé, Brown Ideye, Emmanuel Emenike and Ahmed Musa sealed a 4-1 victory and a spot in the final.

Just like their final four opponents, Burkina Faso were shock finalists however, they too couldn’t beat the Nigerians and Mba scored the winner in the 40th minute of the game. It was a historic win for Nigeria, and fans all over the country celebrated the triumph, their country’s first in almost two decades.

2010 – Beaten in the Semifinals

In 2012, Nigeria didn’t qualify once more, making it three tournaments in four that they hadn’t featured in. Two years before that it was a different story, and the Super Eagles were at the back end of six consecutive tournaments. The showdown in Angola promised plenty, and the Nigerians wouldn’t disappoint.

They topped their group with wins over Mozambique and Benin before drawing against Tunisia. They then beat Zambia in the quarterfinals on penalties before being knocked out by Ghana in the semifinals. The defeat was a bitter pill to swallow because the squad was filled with top talents such as Vincent Enyeama, John Obi-Mikel, and Obafemi Martins. Asamoah Gyan netted the only game of the goal for the Black Stars and he would go on to make headlines the world over six months later as his missed penalty against Uruguay saw his side eliminated from the FIFA World Cup at the semifinal stage.

Former coach of the Nigeria U17 team Emmanuel Amuneke has reacted to the video, where he was alleged to have picked Egyptian forward Mohammed Salah ahead of Victor Osimhen in the vote for the Africa footballer of the year.

Amuneke who is highly favoured to be the next coach of the senior national team of Nigeria in the event that present coach Jose Peseiro leaves his role was seen in a video backing Salah to win the award ahead of eventual winner Osimhen.

Referenced by Osimhen in his speech after clinching the award, Amuneke said the discussion was centred around picking one of the duo of Salah or Achraf Hakimi since it’s clear that he will pick Osimhen, a lad he coached to prominence with the U17 team of Nigeria in 2015.

He cleared the air in a WhatsApp group called Sports Village Square, which is moderated by foremost Nigerian journalist Osasu Obayiuwuna.

Below is what he said.

“Good morning house, I want to use this opportunity to clear what some of you are saying in this platform. With all due respect to every one of you that I owe with high regard.

First of all, I want you to understand the rumours that you guys are [spreading] concerning me not voting Osimhen. I was never elected to vote.

On our way to the novelty game that we played in Marrakech here, a former player and captain of the Egyptian national team – who is preparing himself to become a TV producer in Egypt – with his group, he was debating on the Arabian team and he raised the question between Hakimi and Salah.

There was no time Osimhen was mentioned in that discussion. He came to me and asked ‘Hakimi or Salah’. I have to say Salah. And the reason why I said Salah was because I played in Egypt and I lived in Egypt and I know some of the guys there.

So, there is nothing like voting against Osimhen. Osimhen is our player and our boy. We are happy about what he has achieved and we hope he would continue to dream and achieve more for the betterment of his career and the betterment of Nigeria.

It has come a time in our culture in Nigeria – with all due respect to you guys, we should stop spreading false news and stop creating false impression to the people. We are journalists and our responsibility is to inform the public what is right.”

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Pitso Mosimane has voiced out his desire to handle the senior national team of Nigeria, if considered for the role in the event that current coach of the team Jose Peseiro doesn’t continue in his job, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Mosimane is currently unattached after leaving his role as coach of Al Wahda in November. He spent four months at the UAE club and since his exit there has been talks about other teams targeting his services like Kaizer Chiefs and Hearts of Oak of Ghana.

The former Al Ahly coach is however not in a hurry to pick his next destination, which could possibly be Nigeria, if he is approached by the authority concerned to handle the team, who are gearing up for the challenge of playing in the Africa Cup of Nations next year.

“They have a lot of talent; the likes of Samuel Chukwueze, the Napoli striker Victor Osimhen. But talent alone is not enough because if it was only about talent, they would have beaten Lesotho 7-0, but they drew with them. And pound for pound they would have also beaten Zimbabwe,” He was quoted as saying by  KickOff.

“So, the job of the coach is to bring confidence, stability, leadership, winning mentality and teamwork within the group.”

He however admitted that, there will be a huge challenge in him coaching the Nigerian team due to the fact that most of the coaches that have led the team are not Africans. Hence he doubts that he will be considered.

“The Nigeria job is one I would consider, but it would also depend on whether they want the team to be led by an African? Because the only African coach they had was Stephen Keshi,” he added.

“That is also a challenge because there have been a lot of white people on the job; whether we believe in our African coaches like Morocco, Senegal, Algeria and Egypt remains to be seen.

“I envy all those African coaches who were entrusted with the job and maybe take the level higher. But I don’t want to talk too much about the Nigerian job links because there is still a coach there and it’s important that I respect that.”

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

In his bid to nip the goalkeeper crisis in the senior national team of Nigeria head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Jose Peseiro has made contact with Chippa United shot stopper Stanley Nwabali.

As we exclusively reveal in October, the goalkeeper is seen by the coach as one who could challenge for number one spot with Francis Uzoho, who hasn’t been convincing lately.

Peseiro visited the 27 year old and watched him in action against Golden Arrows, where he kept a clean sheet to help his team to a 2-0 win. It was his sixth shut out of the season in South Africa.

Speaking on the abilities of the former Enyimba of Aba shot stopper Rob Edwards said he is probably the second best goalkeeper only behind the first choice goalkeeper of the senior national team of South Africa Ronwen Williams.

” Nwabali is easily the second best goalkeeper in the PSL (Premier South Africa League). I will pick Ronwen Williams of Mamelodi Sundowns over him but when you consider the team they play for then you will have to respect Nwabali”, Edwards told OwnGoalNigeria.com.

” Take a look at his (Nwabali) numbers and you will see how identical it is to that of Williams. They both have six clean sheets from the first eleven games of the season so far, even though one plays for a modest team while the other plays for a team that is about the best in the league”.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

The agent and brother of Fulham defender Tosin Adarabiyio has hinted at a possible switch of nationality for the 26 year old after his goal against West Ham United in the English Premier League, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Adarabiyio’s return from injury has coincided with Fulham’s best run of the season so far as they have won their last two games with a convincing 5-0 win against Nottingham Forest and West Ham respectively.

He has formed a formidable partnership in defence with fellow Nigerian Calvin Bassey, a partnership which will likely extend to the senior national team of Nigeria, judging by a post made by his agent and brother Gbolahan Adarabiyio on social media.

Although Adarabiyio has rejected chances to be a part of the Nigerian team in the past insisting on waiting for his time with the senior national team of England, a post by his brother suggests a different tune might be the order of the day.

Below is the post he made under the goal scored by Adarabiyio. He posted three eagles with a Nigerian flag underneath. The Eagle is the symbol of the senior national team of Nigeria often referred to as the Super Eagles.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

The 50 man provisional list of players for the Super Eagles of Nigeria will be trimmed to at least 33 players before the team departs for a three team tournament in the UAE as part of their preparations for the Africa Cup of Nations.

Head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Jose Peseiro has already drawn up the list, which will be forwarded to CAF in three days time. It is from the list that a final 27 man squad will be picked for the tournament proper.

OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal that some players on the provisional list won’t make it to the tournament in the UAE, where the team will take on  two teams in Congo Dr and Burkina Faso in a three team tournament.

“Not all the 50 players will be in the UAE for the pre AFCON tournament. The list will be trimmed to 33 players. We don’t expect the regulars to be in the mix at the tournament, so you will see more of players who want to break into the team”, a backroom staff of the team said.

” The tournament won’t be the only test game in the build up to the AFCON. Plans are underway for one or two more games after the final list of players is made public”, he rounded up saying.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Napoli forward Victor Osimhen has ended Nigeria’s long wait for the Africa footballer of the year award beating the duo of Achraf Hakimi and Mohammed Salah to the title at the event held in Morocco, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Osimhen was rewarded for his outstanding performance for Napoli last season, where he found the back of the net 26 times to power them to their first league title in 33 years.

He also was the first African to win the top scorer award in the history of the Italian Serie A. The fear has now earned him the honour of being the first Nigerian since Kanu Nwankwo to win the award.

Kanu won the award in the year 2000, and now 23 years later Osimhen has now equaled his feat after a super year with Napoli despite Nigeria missing out on qualification for the world cup.

His award wasn’t the only one picked up by Nigeria at the ceremony with the women’s team winning the Women’s Team of the year and their goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie was voted the best woman goalkeeper. More importantly was Asisat Oshaola winning the women’s player of the year award again.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

The reliable bookmaker company 1xBet talks about the Champions Leaguegroup stage sixth round match, in which Borussia Dortmund will take on PSG.

Dortmund crisis

At the end of the year, it is becoming increasingly difficult for the German vice-champion to maintain a high standard in the Bundesliga. The Bumblebees wereknocked out of the Cup and have only won once in their last five leaguematches, showing their character in the home match against Borussia Gladbach. As Edin Terzic admitted, when his team is required to calm down, it panics.

At the same time, the team confidently emerged from the most challenginggroup of the Champions League, beating Newcastle and Milan. In matches withopponents of this level, it is easier for Terzic’s squad to play second, wait forothers‘ mistakes and rely on Gregor Kobel’s saves. It seems simple, but so far, this tactic works and brings in decent money from UEFA.

PSG: become even better

The Parisians in Ligue 1 follow the championship schedule: 7 wins in a row anda 4-point gap from second place. Enrique’s main weapon is Kylian Mbappe: hehas 15 goals in Ligue 1 alone. He interacts well with his partners, constantlyshifts to the center under the crosses of Dembele and Hakimi, and generallygives the world tricks and miracles, for which football fans try not to miss PSG matches.

Alas, Paris does not look so confident in the Champions League. The game withNewcastle was indicative, in which the Parisians were saved thanks to anunconvincing penalty awarded for the ball bouncing into Livramento’s hand.

What to expect

The intrigue is twisted to the limit – all 4 teams from Group F can take secondplace, and only Borussia has guaranteed itself a place in the playoffs.

We also recommend paying attention to the game in Portugal, where Porto andShakhtar will compete for a place in the playoffs. The home team will besatisfied with a draw, but the Miners need a win at any cost.

You can place a bet on Borussia D v PSG here

A youth team coach in the national team setup of Nigeria has revealed why coaches handling teams at that level for Nigeria are usually open to collecting money from football agents and sometimes parents of players.

Following up on our report about a dispute between a national team coach of Nigeria and a football agent , who is asking for a refund after his player failed to make the squad of one of the national teams, the coach opened up to the problems at that level.

” I saw your report on the agent asking the coach for his money after his player was dropped. My brother, it is what is happening at that level but you can’t blame us for it only”, he told OwnGoalNigeria.com.

” A lot of us working and who have worked with the youth teams are not on salary. Instead it’s tournament bonus that you are not sure will come as and at when due. You are a family man and you understand what it means to say no when your family is hungry back home.

” If the NFF want to solve this issue then they have to find a way to pay the coaches well. Even the head coaches who have valid contracts haven’t been paid for over 18 months. How do you tell such a man not to collect money from agents or parents of players?.

On if it affects their judgement on inclusion of players, the coach said it is not that way all the time saying some very good players have agent who support the coaches, he said most times they collect money from players already in the team.

” It is rare for a coach to collect money from players who are not in his plans. Very rare because the very good players have agent who supports them and they also support the coaches”, he concluded.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

The first choice goalkeeper of German Bundesliga side Freiburg Noah Atubolu says he has no knowledge regarding reports that he is the provisional list of the senior national team of Nigeria for the Africa Cup of Nations, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

Atubolu who has kept in all 14 games in the Bundesliga for Freiburg this season is a German youth international, but he is eligible for Nigeria through his father who is a Nigerian.

He is seen as one of the options available to head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Jose Peseiro, who is currently facing a crisis in goalkeepers with the first choice Francis Uzoho guilty of so many errors.

Some reports circulating in selected WhatsApp groups has it that the 21 year old is in the Super Eagles provisional list of players for the Africa Cup of Nations, but his representative has played it down saying there is no substance to the claim.

” The last time the discussion about playing for Nigeria came up was under the previous coach Gernot Rohr, since the new man took over there have been no contact with Atubolu, how much more going to the AFCON. It’s not true and even if he is in the list, then we ar not aware”, he responded via mail.

Ade Emmanuel