Admin
Captain of the home-based Super Eagles, Junior Nduka, has declared that the team is determined to bring glory to Nigeria as they prepare to face defending champions Senegal in their opening match of the 2024 African Nations Championship (CHAN).
The Group D encounter is scheduled for Tuesday night at the Amman Stadium in Zanzibar, with kickoff set for 6:00 p.m. Nigerian time.
Speaking ahead of the clash, Junior Nduka said the team is drawing motivation from the recent achievements of Nigeria’s women’s national teams, the Super Falcons and D’Tigress, who have both won major continental titles in recent weeks.
“Our female team has just won the WAFCON, and our women’s team just won the basketball title. It’s a good record for the country and we hope to consolidate on that,” the Remo Stars defender said during a pre-match media briefing.
He added: “To our fellow Nigerians, I know the expectations are high because we’ve been doing well in sports and we’ll try our best not to let them down.”
The Super Falcons recently clinched their 10th Women’s Africa Cup of Nations title in Morocco, while D’Tigress retained the Women’s AfroBasket crown with a win over Mali in Abidjan.
Nduka, who will lead the team against a strong Senegalese side, says the players are focused on delivering a positive result to kick-start their campaign.
On the opposing side, Senegal midfielder El Hadj Malick confirmed the champions are aiming to retain their crown. “We are determined, we know that Senegalese back at home expect a lot from us,” he said.
Senegal coach Souleymane Diallo also stressed the importance of progressing from the group stage. “We are not here to defend the trophy in our keeping, we came to try to win another trophy, but for that we have to set the first objective which is qualifying from the group,” he said.
Note that the match will be the first-ever CHAN meeting between Nigeria and Senegal. Sudan will take on Congo Brazzaville in the other Group D fixture.
The post CHAN 2024: Junior Nduka Targets Title As Home-Based Eagles Face Senegal appeared first on Naija News.
