Super Eagles assistant captain Kenneth Omeruo, for the first time after the 2023 Africa Cup Of Nations (AFCON) opens up on the criticism the team suffered after losing out a fourth AFCON title; npflupdates.com reports.
Omeruo was part of the Super Eagles team that represented Nigeria at the 34th edition of the AFCON.
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The team went into the tournament as one of the favourites alongside host nation Ivory Coast, Senegal, Morocco and Egypt; despite criticism from home fans.
It wasn’t an easy outing, but the three-time African champions went all the way to the final, where they lost the trophy to Cote d’Ivoire.
What Omeruo said about some Super Eagles fans
Speaking in an interview, Omeruo highlighted how he alongside Ahmed Musa compelled on thier teammates to work harder.
“I and Musa told the guys. If you win, it changes a lot of things for you and for the country. When we won, the airport was packed and people were waiting to welcome us, but unfortunately, this time, it wasn’t the case,” the former CD Leganese man said in an interview and was quoted by Soccernet Nigeria.
Capped sixty-one times for the senior team, the former Chelsea man narrated how the reaction of some of the Nigerian fans after the loss against Ivory Coast at the AFCON 2023 final went over the line.
“Someone wrote to Ola Aina on Instagram – I hope you die. These people don’t care about the consequences. We just have to grow a thick skin and hopefully keep winning because when we win, they don’t get angry. Some of the people on social media are just angry because they lost their bets, some don’t even watch the game,” he said.
Speaking on the success of the team, the Kasimpasa captain, expressed excitement with the performances of Goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali.
Nwabali kept four cleansheets in his AFCON debut, integrated himself into the team’s starting XI and guided the team to its first ever AFCON final in over a decade.
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“I am especially proud of Stanley Nwabali, how he was able to come into the team and show his qualities,” Omeruo said.
”The team believes in itself, and knows it can perform better. I hoped that we would win gold at the 2023 AFCON, nonetheless, our eyes are on AFCON 2025.”
