January 04, (THEWILL) – The Africa Cup of Nations camp of the Super Eagles of Nigeria received a boost with the arrival of winger, Samuel Chukwueze of AC Milan and goalkeeper, Stanley Nwabali of Chippa United. The duo’s appearance in Abu Dhabi brings the number of players currently in camp to 19.
The Super Eagles are holding a one week training camp in Abu Dhabi to prepare for the upcoming AFCON tournament in Ivory Coast. The team is expected to return to Lagos January 10, before travelling to Abidjan on January 11. Media officer, Babafemi Raji, stated that training commenced on Wednesday evening, but that information will be limited until January 6, as the team is currently in a closed camp.
Additional players still expected to join the camp include defender, William Troost-Ekong and forward, Victor Osimhen, along with goalkeeper, Francis Uzoho and forward, Umar Sadiq. The 19 players currently in camp feature a mix of defenders, midfielders and forwards. Key players present include captain, Ahmed Musa, Alex Iwobi and Moses Simon.
The Super Eagles are slated to play two warm up matches against Burkina Faso and Cape Verde prior to the tournament. Their first match will be against Equatorial Guinea (January 14), followed by a match with hosts, Ivory Coast, four days later. On January 22, they will wrap up the group stage with a match against Guinea-Bissau.
Nigeria is looking to lift the trophy again after three previous wins in 1980, 1994 and 2013. They hope to capture a fourth title this year and will have their work cut out for them, especially against the hosts, Ivory Coast, which is expected to be the toughest hurdle in the group.
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Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
