Former Nigeria international Ifeanyi Udeze has expressed his belief that Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen is under pressure to score goals at the AFCON 2023.
Despite being tipped as one of the players to compete for the top scorer award, Osimhen has only managed to score one goal and has missed several scoring opportunities in Nigeria’s group stage run.
Speaking on Brila FM, Udeze noted that the pressure seems to be affecting Osimhen, leading to a drop in his confidence when facing the opponent’s goal post.
Udeze emphasized the importance of Osimhen regaining his confidence and urged him to get back to his goal-scoring form.
“For me, Osimhen is under pressure, that’s why he is trying everything possible to score. The pressure is affecting him, and I think his confidence level has dropped a little bit whenever he faces the opponent’s goal post, so he needs to get his confidence back.”
Despite the challenges, Udeze expressed his confidence in Osimhen’s abilities, describing him as a very good player. He wished the striker all the best and hoped that he would rediscover his scoring prowess as the Super Eagles advance to the round of 16.
The Super Eagles finished the group stage with seven points after three games, scoring three goals and conceding one. Osimhen will aim to find his scoring form in the upcoming knockout stage of the tournament.
Nigeria will face Cameroon in the round of 16 on Saturday, January 27, 2024 with kickoff scheduled for 9pm.
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