Kenneth Omeruo, a defender for the Super Eagles, has made it clear that he and his team will only engage their opponents on the pitch, not off-field.
Kenneth Omeruo’s statement comes after a progression of the past has been recovered after it was confirmed that the Super Eagles of Nigeria will confront Angola in the 2023 AFCON quarterfinals.
One of the pasts that has been recovered is the death of Nigeria’s Sam Okwaraji while playing against Angola in a 1990 World Cup qualifier in Lagos on August 12, 1989. However, Nigeria dominated the match 1-0, and the Eagles neglected to meet all requirements for the competition.
Also, after beating Nigeria in their country and drawing with the Super Eagles in the return leg, Angola stopped the Super Eagles from qualifying for the 2006 World Cup.
Nigeria and Angola haven’t played each other in a competitive game since then because Angola hasn’t qualified for any international competition in 14 years.
Angola are going into the 2023 AFCON quarterfinals game against Nigeria at 6 p.m. on Friday, February 2, as the 28th-positioned group in Africa and the 117th-positioned group on the planet.
As a result, the majority of football fans in Nigeria believe that the Super Eagles, who are ranked sixth in Africa and 42nd worldwide, should compensate Angola for the “misfortunes” they have caused Nigeria in the past.
However, Kenneth Omeruo said, “We have definitely compelling reasons why we need to go into this way and that prattle with any group. For serious business, the Super Eagles are in Ivory Coast. Although we haven’t played Angola in a while, I recall playing them in a friendly in 2012, which ended in a draw. I have likewise perused how past experiences between the two nations have been very close.
“The match on Friday has no chance of ending in a draw; there must be a winner. Such a lot of talk has been going on. Our collective determination is to speak on the pitch. The Nigerian spirit prevails over all else.
He went on to say, “We drew our first match (against Equatorial Guinea), and many people came to the conclusion that we are not here to compete vigorously for the trophy.” They have since conceded that we might be planning some mischief after we crushed Cote d’Ivoire and, afterward, Cameroon. We should keep on buckling down, have confidence in ourselves, and put in a strong shift every day and every time we get onto the field.”