Semi Ajayi does not expect a warm reception when Nigeria face Morocco in the semifinal of the ongoing African Cup of Nations tournament, but believes they will be ready for the test, SportPremi reports.
The Super Eagles will face the host nations for a second consecutive tournament when they battle the Atlas Lions in Rabat on Wednesday night for a spot in the final.
At the 2023 AFCON edition in Ivory Coast, the three-time champions played against the Elephants twice at the tournament.
The Super Eagles won 1-0 in their first meeting during the group stages, but suffered a 2-1 defeat in the final despite scoring the first goal of that particular clash.
This time around, they will be up against a Morocco team buoyed by their massive home support at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium.
Nigeria have already faced two North African oppositions so far at the tournament, defeating Tunisia 3-2 in their second match, before recording a dominant 2-0 win over Algeria in their quarterfinal encounter.
Semi Ajayi expresses readiness for Morocco clash
Nigerian defender Semi Ajayi hailed his side’s win over Algeria in their quarterfinal clash, but does not expect an easier task when they face Morocco in the next round.
“It will be hostile, but I think we’ve got enough experience in the group to deal with that. It was pretty much an away game with the stadium about 80% Algeria and we learnt how to do it and we’re ready for the next game”, Ajayi stated.
The Hull City defender also admitted the pain of losing in the final of the last edition and says the team have moved on and are ready to make history this time around.
“The ambition is there, the goal is the same, we know how painful it was to not go all the way the last time and we’re looking to make amends for that. Like I said, we still got a semifinal to do it and we are really hungry, ready and focused to make sure we fulfill the ambition.
We can always improve. No performance is perfect and whatever we need to fix we can do that on the training field before the next game”, the 32-year-old concluded.
Nigeria and Morocco will go head to head on Wednesday, with the winner facing either Senegal or Egypt in the final match.
