From our special correspondents in Abidjan – After Nigeria’s victory in the Group A clash against Ivory Coast, the Super Eagles legend presented himself in the mixed zone of the Ébimpé stadium in Abidjan. The former PSG player was reassured by his country’s performance but still believes that the Elephants will go far in the competition.
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When the African Cup of Nations begins, the legends of African nations are never far away. True tutelary figures for the new generations, the stars of yesterday follow the performances of their successors closely and do not hesitate to give their opinion when a microphone is held out.
Jay-Jay Okocha is one of them. The former number 10 of PSG is closely following Nigeria’s epic at this CAN 2024. A competition that he won in 1994, the first of five podiums. The one who was part of the Olympic champion Super Eagles team in Atlanta was inevitably smiling after the victory against Ivory Coast, which revived his country after the average performance against Equatorial Guinea.
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What did you think of Nigeria’s performance this evening?
Jay-Jay Okocha: This is an important victory for us. It puts us in an excellent position in Group A. It was a very difficult match. It’s never easy playing against the host country, but we showed a lot of character today and we deserved to win.
What do you think of the Ivory Coast match: is this defeat worrying for them?
It’s always difficult to play at home. The pressure is on you. Ivory Coast loves its football so they don’t just want to win. They want to win in style. This puts pressure on the players, but I think they still have a very good chance of going far in this tournament.
They can still win. This is football and everything is possible in football. Sometimes you need a defeat to bounce back. You have to lose a match to correct your mistakes. When everything is going well, we look untouchable…A defeat can help you bounce back.
Is Nigeria’s match this evening encouraging for the rest of the tournament?
Every match is different, every match is difficult. There are no more small teams at the CAN but I hope we will go all the way. The first match was not a bad result. A 1-1 draw wasn’t so bad and tonight we showed we were going to stay in the tournament
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After seeing all the teams play, who is your favorite?
He’s laughing. Nigeria. I am Nigerian!
And the second favorite?
I have many friends in Africa. I can’t tell you that. He laughs again