Sports
Jay Jay Okocha Insists Victor Osimhen Will Bounce Back Against Ivory Coast
Former Super Eagles captain, Jay Jay Okocha, has stressed that Nigerian talismanic striker, Victor Osimhen, will use the game against Ivory Coast to reignite himself in the ongoing 2023 AFCON.
Victor Osimhen was one of the players who let Nigeria down in the Eagles’ 2023 AFCON opener against Equatoria Guinea, even though he was the one who scored the equalizer in the 1-1 draw.
Before and after the reigning African player of the year scored the equalizer, the 25-year-old Nigerian striker missed a couple of goalscoring opportunities, which could have given the Eagles a comfortable win.
Since Nigeria recorded the disappointing draw, most football enthusiasts in Nigeria have lost confidence in the team and even in Osimhen’s highly celebrated goalscoring skills.
But Jay Jay Okocha, who visited the Super Eagles team in Abidjan on Wednesday, January 17, stressed that Osimhen would redeem himself in the must-win Group A game at 6 p.m. tonight.
“We know that Victor Osimhen is a world-class goalscorer, a very great player,” Okocha told journalists.
“He (Osimhen) needs his team’s services, and I believe he got them in this first match. It’s not all the time that we see him miss clear opportunities. I think he is eager to correct his mistakes and with him, we have hope and we believe in him because we know he is capable of shining in any competition.”
On the overall performance of the Super Eagles in their opening Group A game against Equatoria Guinea on January 14, Okocha added: “I think we didn’t play badly as many people say.
“There were a lot of positive things that were seen in the match. The only problem is that we didn’t take our opportunities. We created a lot of chances, which is a positive aspect for me. That’s the sign of a good team. It looks like two points lost because we were favourites, but we know how difficult it is to win a match. This is also a good thing because they now know that they are not perfect and that they need to improve on certain things.”