Teams in the final of a major tournament have no shortage of reasons to want to win, but Nigeria has additional internal motivation to try to capture Sunday's African Cup of Nations final against hosts Ivory Coast.
For starters, only Egypt, with 10 and Ghana with nine, have played more Afcon finals than Nigerians. Until the current tournament, the Super Eagles were tied with Cameroon at seven, but will now surpass the Indomitable Lions by one on Sunday.
However, all of those countries have more tournament wins than Nigeria. Egypt has seven, Cameroon has five (three of them against Nigeria) and Ghana has four, while the Eagles have so far only three, something embarrassing for a country that is seen as one of the powers of African football.
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Although the last of Ghana's four matches was won more than 40 years ago, in 1982, it remains a major point of joke between the two rivals, with Black Stars fans using that single advantage to beat Black Stars fans. Super Eagles on the head.
Drawing with Ghana and finishing one behind Cameroon would ease some of that pain.
As a complement to that, while Egypt, Cameroon and Ghana have players who have won multiple Afcon titles, due to the gap between Nigeria's triumphs (14 years between first and second, and 19 years between second and third ), there are no Eagles. The player has two winner's medals.
The closest the country has come to that is the late Stephen Keshi, who won it as a player in 1994 and then as a coach in 2013.
Now, the Super Eagles have a unique opportunity for players to join that exclusive club. Captain Ahmed Musa and defender Kenneth Omeruo were members of the 2013 team that won the title in South Africa just over 10 years ago and are now set to become the first Nigerians to achieve a double.
It would be a notable achievement for both of them to play in their fourth Afcon. Musa, who scored in Nigeria's 4-1 victory over Mali in the semi-finals in South Africa a decade ago, and is Nigeria's top scorer at the FIFA World Cup with four goals, admits it would be a special feeling
“If we win the trophy, it would be a great day in my life because in Nigeria only Kenneth and I would be the two players who would win the Afcon twice and our late coach Stephen Keshi who won it as a player and as a coach,” he stated. .
“It's a feeling that can't always be adequately described. Winning the Afcon and touching the trophy is an unforgettable experience. Omeruo and I experienced that when we won in South Africa. But I want another one and he wants another one too. The good feelings and the experience They must be double.”
“It would be a special feeling,” he added to ESPN. “It shows how difficult it is to win the Nations Cup; if we win it, we will be the first Nigerians.”
Omeruo, who was a starting defender on that 2013 team before being injured for most of the tournament, also said he was looking forward to lifting the trophy again.
“We want to have that special feeling again: the feeling of being an African champion,” he said. “We haven't come so far as to throw it away. We've put everything into the six games we've played here. We'll give more than 100% against the Ivorians on Sunday.”
But Musa was also quick to point out that that was a secondary goal for the team.
“We're not going there thinking about getting a double for me and Omeruo,” he said. “When we came here, our goal was to win the competition for our country and for others. That's our goal.”
A victory would also give José Peseiro his first taste of major titles in his 32-year coaching career. As head coach, he came close to Sporting Lisbon, losing 1-3 to CSKA Moscow in the 2005 UEFA Cup final, despite playing at their home stadium and having a 1-0 lead in Rest.
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What to expect from the AFCON final between Ivory Coast and Nigeria
Colin Udoh previews the AFCON final between Ivory Coast and Nigeria.
Incidentally, he won a national trophy as a coach and in a strange coincidence, it happened in 2013, the same year Nigeria last won the Afcon. Peseiro led Sporting Braga to win the Taça da Liga, defeating defending champions Benfica in the semi-final on penalty kicks before beating Porto 1-0 in the final.
How poetic it would be if both the coach and the team did a repeat in the same year. Peseiro has said from the beginning that his ambition was to win the tournament, even before he was hired, and he insists that has not changed.
“My team has done very well so far,” he said. “But we haven't won it yet and I say we want to win the Afcon.”
Nigeria has an injury concern. Left-back Zaidu Sanusi, who missed the semi-final, remains a doubt. Peseiro says he will be evaluated and a decision will be made before the game.
Off the field, Nigeria has taken measures to prevent distractions for players. In previous tournaments and even in qualifying matches, government officials and corporate people have gone out of their way to make promises to the team in an attempt to propel them to victory. They have rarely worked.
Segun Odegbami, 1980 Afcon winner and top scorer, said: “It's never over until it's over. The NFF should not allow any kind of distraction around the team before the match. Let the boys concentrate and concentrate hard.” in the task at hand. Frivolous visits to the team camp should not be permitted.
“We must all strive to help the team. Let them be themselves and remain themselves. This is of utmost national importance and all for the glory of our country. Nothing should be allowed to distract the players from this crucial national task” .
