WILLIAM Troost-Ekong and Moses Simon have acknowledged that Angola will not be pushovers for the Super Eagles of Nigeria in their quarter-final clash at the AFCON 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire.
PAOK centre-back Troost-Ekong, who has captained the Super Eagles at AFCON 2023 as Ahmed Musa has not seen action, however insists that he and his teammates are up for the challenge.
“We can no longer expect any easy games. In truth, there have not been easy games here,” Troost-Ekong told thenff.com.
“We have played Equatorial Guinea, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau and Cameroon, and none has turned out to be a picnic.
“From the quarter-finals, it will be a lot tougher because all the teams will believe they are good enough for the trophy.
“We are discussing among ourselves what we have to do. There is no resting on our oars. We saw Guinea eliminate Equatorial Guinea that emerged the best team of the group phase. Football is like that.
“We must be alert for the entire period and do our best to convert the chances that we create.”
Nantes winger Simon also admitted that it would not be an easy ride at the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium on Friday.
“It is going to be a difficult game, like the ones against Cote d’Ivoire and Cameroon, and even Equatorial Guinea,” he noted.
“We must be at our best and focus on the prize.”
Angola, who have scored nine goals and conceded three in four matches in Cote d’Ivoire, are aiming for their first-ever AFCON semi-final spot, while the Super Eagles are three-time champions and four-time losing finalists.
