Obafemi Martins tells Eagles how to win Egypt 2019 Nations Cup

Former Super Eagles striker, Obafemi Martins believes Nigeria can win next month’s African Nations Cup if the team drew from Nigeria’s past experience in the North Africa country.

Martins was Nigeria’s top striker when the Super Eagles won the bronze medal at the 2006 African Nations Cup hosted and won by the Pharaohs.

The former Inter Milan striker told The Guardian that the Super Eagles have the quality to win the competition, adding, however, that they must be given the necessary support to reach their target at the competition scheduled for June 21 to July 19, 2019.

Apart from Nigeria, Martins picks Senegal, Egypt, Morocco and defending champions, Cameroon as teams capable of winning the competition.

He warned Nigerians against hyping the Super Eagles as top favourites to win the event, stressing that putting the players under pressure might throw them off balance.

The Shanghai Greenland Shenhua FC of China player noted that the 24 teams format for the AFCON has made the championship more competitive, which means the Super Eagles need to work hard to navigate the added obstacles on their way.

“The Eagles need encouragement and psychological boost to excel at the championship. They need to get the best preparations and approach every game with the right tactics.

“The Gernot Rohr led Super Eagles team are good enough to win the AFCON, but the 24-team format has made the championship tougher and more competitive. So, the Eagles must be focused and committed to the task to succeed,” he said.

Martins, who was among the former Super Eagles players that met their counterparts from across Africa in a ceremonial game for the outgoing Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode at the weekend, Praised the governor for his giant strides in sports development.

He revealed  that the ceremonial game helped to bring former African football stars together to have fun through football after a long while, adding that it also showed that Africa was united in the game of football.