AFCON 2025: Is the power of deja vu enough to carry Super Eagles through?

The Super Eagles are heading into the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON 2025) with questions swirling around them, but Ogenyi Onazi has seen this movie before.

The former Nigeria midfielder, part of the squad that conquered Africa in 2013, believes the current group has the raw ingredients to surprise critics in Morocco, just as Stephen Keshi’s side did in South Africa 12 years ago.

Onazi says the noise around Eric Chelle’s selections should not distract the players. In his view, doubt is not a weakness but a familiar starting point. He recalls a time when expectations were low, belief was questioned, and the squad was written off before a ball was kicked. That, he argues, is often when Nigerian teams are at their most dangerous.

“There was not much belief in us in 2013,” Onazi said. “We had many new players, and people didn’t think we could go far. But we understood the task and decided to give everything. We won it. I see a similar situation now, and I expect the same hunger from this set of players.”

The former Lazio man insists the shirt should be the only focus once the tournament begins. “When you wear that jersey, it doesn’t matter when you started playing for Nigeria. What matters is commitment,” he added. “Go hard, give everything, and remember you are carrying the hopes of millions.”

Nine AFCON newcomers, and why Onazi sees a familiar pattern

Eric Chelle’s AFCON 2025 squad contains nine players who have never featured at the Africa Cup of Nations, a detail that has fuelled doubts but also underpins Onazi’s optimism. 

Those newcomers are Ryan Alebiosu, Tochukwu Nnadi, Salim Fago Lawal, Ebenezer Akinsanmiro, Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, Akor Adams, Cyriel Dessers, Amas Obasogie and Muhammad Usman. Some are entirely new to the national setup, others have only brushed the fringes, but none has previously experienced the intensity of a Nations Cup.

The 32-year-old insists that unfamiliarity with the tournament is not a disadvantage in itself. He points back to AFCON 2013, when Stephen Keshi travelled to South Africa with a group that raised similar eyebrows. 

That squad also leaned heavily on players without AFCON pedigree. Sunday Mba, Ogenyi Onazi, Reuben Gabriel, Ejike Uzoenyi, Brown Ideye and Elderson Echiejile all went into that tournament without continental experience. By the time it ended, several had written their names into Nigerian football history