{"id":883631,"date":"2026-01-09T05:22:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T11:22:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/09\/ex-lazio-man-warns-super-eagles-it-would-be-shameful-not-to-win-afcon-2025-as-nigeria-face-algeria\/"},"modified":"2026-01-09T05:22:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T11:22:09","slug":"ex-lazio-man-warns-super-eagles-it-would-be-shameful-not-to-win-afcon-2025-as-nigeria-face-algeria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/09\/ex-lazio-man-warns-super-eagles-it-would-be-shameful-not-to-win-afcon-2025-as-nigeria-face-algeria\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-Lazio man warns Super Eagles: \u2018It would be shameful\u2019 not to win AFCON 2025 as Nigeria face Algeria"},"content":{"rendered":"

Soccer <\/p>\n

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\"Soccer<\/p>\n

Photo by Segun Ogunfeyitimi Copyright: xshengolpixsxIMAGO<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Former Nigeria midfielder Ogenyi Onazi has challenged the Super Eagles to make the most of what he describes as a rare opportunity, warning that failure to win the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations<\/a> would be a major disappointment for a squad rich in talent, Soccernet.ng reports<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Nigeria, three-time African champions, have reached the quarter-finals in Morocco and will face Algeria on Saturday, buoyed by a run of convincing performances<\/a> led by their star forwards Ademola Lookman<\/a> and Victor Osimhen.<\/p>\n

Onazi, who was part of the team that lifted the trophy in South Africa in 2013, believes the current group has both the quality and the momentum to go all the way and should not allow anything derail them.<\/p>\n

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Photo by Segun Ogunfeyitimi Copyright: xshengolpixsxIMAGO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Soccer Onazi’s message to Nigeria\u2019s Super Eagles\u00a0<\/h2>\n
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\u201cThis generation of Super Eagles need to win the AFCON title for themselves,\u201d he told PUNCH Sports Extra<\/a>. \u201cIt will be a bit shameful for players of this calibre in the squad to not touch the AFCON trophy.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Nigeria\u2019s attacking strength has been one of the stories of the tournament so far. Lookman has been directly involved in seven goals in three matches, scoring three times and providing four assists, while Osimhen has added three goals and one assist in four appearances. Their form has powered Nigeria into the last eight and reinforced their status as one of the favourites for the title.<\/p>\n

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Ogenyi Onazi (17) back in his days with the Super Eagles. Photo Credit: Jam Media \/ IMAGO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Onazi said success at the Africa Cup of Nations can be a defining moment in a player\u2019s career and urged the squad to keep their focus firmly on the prize.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWhen you win the AFCON, it gives you an edge in your career. It is one of the biggest trophies in the world,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is good for the players and good for the country.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The former Lazio man’s comments come at a time when Nigeria are working to put recent off-field distractions behind them.<\/p>\n

\"Soccer
Super Eagles players led by Victor Osimhen. Photo by Segun Ogunfeyitimi Copyright: xshengolpixsxIMAGO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Earlier this week, tensions in the camp led to a threatened boycott and the cancellation of a training session, raising concerns about the team\u2019s preparations for the knockout phase.<\/p>\n

Those issues have now been resolved<\/a>, and the Nigerian delegation departed Fez on Thursday for Marrakech, where the quarter-final will be played.<\/p>\n

Team officials say normal activities have resumed, with the squad expected to settle into their base and return to full training as preparations intensify for the clash with Algeria.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"<!--Imhonlamhen Eronmhonsele” src=”https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/app\/uploads\/2024\/12\/DSC_0327-copy-150×150.jpg” height=”80″ width=”80″>\t\t<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\tImhonlamhen Eronmhonsele\t\t\t\t<\/a>
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\n\t\t\t\tA lifelong fan of Arsenal and the Super Eagles, Imhonlamhen is a football writer and editor at Soccernet.ng, where his journey as a journalist began more than six years ago. Since then, he has helped shape the platform\u2019s editorial voice and guided it toward some of its proudest milestones. <\/p>\n

With a background in Engineering and further training in journalism and digital media, Imhons brings both precision and passion to his storytelling. His love for football runs deep, but he also follows boxing, chess, and athletics with equal curiosity.\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Read More<\/a>Imhonlamhen Eronmhonsele<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Soccer Photo by Segun Ogunfeyitimi Copyright: xshengolpixsxIMAGO Former Nigeria midfielder Ogenyi Onazi has challenged the Super Eagles to make the most of what he describes as a rare opportunity, warning that failure to win the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations would be a major disappointment for a squad rich in talent, Soccernet.ng reports. Nigeria, three-time […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":883632,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[147313,2005,359],"tags":[147312,5192],"class_list":["post-883631","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ex-lazio","category-soccer","category-warns","tag-ex-lazio","tag-warns"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/883631","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=883631"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/883631\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/883632"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=883631"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=883631"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=883631"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}