African champion in 1994 with Nigeria, Jay Jay Okocha is currently in Côte d'Ivoire as a CAF ambassador. The whimsical former midfielder spoke about this Thursday's Côte d'Ivoire-Nigeria clash in Abidjan, one of the biggest shocks of the first round of the AFCON 2023. Jay Jay gives the key to the match. "What will be key is experience, desire and state of mind. As far as I'm concerned, they're professionals and they know the importance of this match, so I think their state of mind will be the key," says the Super Eagles legend.
Okocha believes Nigeria didn't do badly against Equatorial Guinea on Matchday 1. "We didn't really play badly as many people say. There were a lot of positive things in the match. The only problem is that we didn't exploit our opportunities enough. We created a lot of chances, which is a positive aspect for me. That's the sign of a good team. It's like losing two points because we were favourites, but we know how difficult it is to win a match. It's also a good thing because they now know that they're not perfect and that they need to improve on certain things," he explains.
