Omeruo insists Super Eagles have mental capacity to face hosts CIV, speaks on new boy Yusuf 

Kenneth Omeruo has insisted that the Super Eagles have the mental strength to face an Ivory Coast team that will be backed by huge crowd support in their second group game on Thursday at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan.

The Kasimpasa central defender is one of the seasoned players in Nigeria’s AFCON squad, having attended two World Cups, Confederations Cup and has racked up fifteen appearances at the Africa Cup of Nations. 

Nigeria did not do what pundits and fans expected them to do as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Equatorial Guinea in their Africa Cup of Nations opener on Sunday, and had to fight their way back to salvage a point.

The Super Eagles could find themselves on a knife-edge in the Group A standings heading into their final group game if they fail to grind out a win against the Elephants.

“It’s not today. We play in our clubs with a lot of crowd, away games, home games, so it’s a trend that we are used to and we just have to stick to our game plan, focus and try to win,” Omeruo said. 

Omeruo pointed out that the Super Eagles have a good blend of youth and experience and strong to compete at the highest level. 

The former Chelsea player was impressed with how Super Eagles new boy Alhassan Yusuf has quickly adapted to the team. 

 

“Looking at the first game and the contributions of Alhassan you can see that he’s a player who has come in and actually blended with the team, even not being with us for a long time.

“This mixture of experience and talent, and also young players to do it,” Omeruo said. 

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

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