A member of the Technical Study Group of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations and former Nigerian superstar, Emmanuel Amuneke isn’t happy that Victor Osimhen is forced to sit out the Africa Cup of Nations but he is hopefully that the Super Eagles will do well at the tournament, SportsDayOnline.com reports.
“We would have liked to see players like Victor Oshimen who is doing very well in a very tough league in Italy. But the most important in life is health and we pray he will regain his health very quickly. He will play other tournaments for his country and certainly the World Cup qualifying play-offs.
“Oshimen is a young footballer, but he is part of the present and future of Nigerian, African and world football. It’s sad not to see him at AFCON, but he will be there soon. Despite everything, the selected players have a lot of quality. Nigeria will bravely defend their chances in this competition.”
Meanwhile, the former Africa Footballer of the Year has picked the Desert Foxes of Algeria as favourites to win the Afcon in Cameroon.
Amuneke who won the 1994 AFCON title with the Super Eagles of Nigeria and was Tanzania’s coach in the 2019 edition in Egypt said Riyad Mahrez and his teammates are the team to beat.
“Algeria is the reigning champions, and they are the favorites. Senegal is a very strong team, so are the hosts Cameroon, Egypt, Nigeria, Morocco and Tunisia. It will be very difficult to predict who will win the title because we have so many great teams here.
“There are big changes in African football, players with a global dimension, it is promising. In Europe today, African footballers play the leading roles in their clubs and evolve in the top clubs in the world. That must be reflected in this competition.”