AFCON 2025: Babangida, Ikpeba  back  Super Eagles to restore pride

1996 Atlanta Olympic gold medallists Tijani Babangida and Victor Ikpeba  believe the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco offers Nigeria a perfect chance to redeem its footballing reputation after the heartbreak of missing out on the 2026 FIFA World Cup

Speaking in a separate interviews, both former Nigeria internationals noted that the pain of failing to qualify for the World Cup for the second consecutive time still lingers among players, officials and fans, adding the  AFCON presents the “only opportunity” for the team to restore national pride.

Babangida in an interview with Tribalfootball , lamented the Super Eagles’ performance in the shock defeat to DR Congo in the World Cup playoff,  describing the Congolese as “more organised and determined” on the day.

According to him, winning AFCON would help heal the emotional wounds suffered by supporters who were left devastated by the defeat.

Babangida is confident Nigeria has the quality to reach the final and possibly end their 12-year wait for a fourth continental title. He, however, warned that head coach Eric Chelle must build a more balanced team and avoid over-reliance on Victor Osimhen, stressing that the team struggled once the striker was substituted against Congo. He urged the technical crew to instil collective responsibility, insisting that “Super Eagles should not collapse if Osimhen is unavailable.”

Meanwhile,  Ikpeba  believes  the Super Eagles  can  reach at least the semi-finals  at Morocco 2025.

 “Reaching the last four of the AFCON will be a realistic target for the Super Eagles,” the 1997 CAF Player of the Year told SCORENigeria. “We’re certainly not one of the favourites to win the tournament and so we can only dream.”

He added:  “African football can be humbling as we have again seen by our failure not to qualify for the World Cup.

 “I can recall that Morocco were big favourites to win the 2023 AFCON after they reached the semifinal of the 2022 World Cup, but again that was not the case.”

But  looking ahead to the competition, Babangida acknowledged the strength of other contenders such as hosts Morocco, Senegal, Egypt, Tunisia and even DR Congo. He praised Morocco’s recent developmental strides, which have seen the nation excel across various age grades. Still, he maintained that Nigeria remains a perennial favourite, especially when underestimated.

Despite the absence of injured young defender Benjamin Fredrick, Babangida remains optimistic that the Super Eagles will rise to the occasion and challenge strongly for the AFCON title.