Former Senegal head coach Alou Cisse has named the Super Eagles as one of the favorites to win the 2025 African Cup of Nations tournament, SportPremi reports.
Cisse, who coached the Teranga Lions to victory over Egypt in the 2021 AFCON tournament, believes Nigeria remain one of the strongest nations on the continent despite failing to reach the World Cup.
Eric Chelle and his team will hope to put behind their 2026 FIFA World Cup failure with a big performance at next month’s AFCON.
They finished second in group C after the conclusion of the group stages and qualified for the CAF playoffs as one of the best-ranked second placed teams, where they battled Gabon in the first round.
The Super Eagles dominated the Panthers and sealed a 4-1 victory to set up a clash with the Democratic Republic of Congo, who eliminated Cameroon in the final.
However, they missed out to the Leopards who advanced to the intercontinental playoffs after victory on penalty shootout.
The three-time African champions were also on the brinks of victory at the previous edition held in Ivory Coast, but were defeated 2-1 in the final by the host nation.
Captain William Troost-Ekong gave Nigeria the lead, before the Elephants scored twice in the second half to clinch the title.
Cisse names Nigeria among five favorites for AFCON
Libya head coach Alou Cisse during an interview, believes Nigeria are among the strongest countries in the continent and have a chance to clinch continental glory.
“I hope Senegal win it. I come from Senegal, and my heart stays with this team. Besides Senegal, many teams can win this AFCON: Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, Nigeria”, the former AFCON winner revealed.
“The Moroccan national team is a contender, and Senegal is also a contender, of course, and there are other teams such as Algeria, Egypt and Nigeria.
“In the Africa Cup of Nations, you can’t predict who will win the title. You can predict who will win the World Cup, but with regard to the Africa Cup of Nations, it is very complicated, and surprises are always present”, Cisse added.
Nigeria at AFCON 2025
Nigeria will head to next month’s African Cup of Nations tournament as one of the favorites to lift the title, despite their absence at next year’s World Cup.
The Super Eagles have one of the star-studded teams in the continent and will be eyeing an improvement on their silver medal run at the 2024 edition.
However, they have been hit with a huge blow as young defender Benjamin Fredrick could miss the tournament after suffering a knee injury.
Eric Chelle’s men will compete in group C alongside Tunisia, Tanzania and Uganda, as the tournament kicks off on the 21st of December in Morocco.
