Moffi to join Eagles on Saturday as Sanwoolu urges them to win the Nations Cup for Nigeria

NICE of France striker Terem Moffi has been called up to the Super Eagles camp as a replacement for Bayer Leverkusen striker Victor Boniface and will now be joining the team in Ivory Coast for the forthcoming African Cup of Nations.

Red hot, Boniface who has been one of the sensations in Germany's Die Bundesliga this season, picked up an injury in Nigeria’s train camp in the United Arab Emirates that ruled him out of the Nations Cup. Moffi has subsequently been drafted in as a replacement and will resume camp on Sunday, January 14, the same day that Nigeria plays Equatorial Guinea in the opening game.

Moffi made coach Jose Peseiro’s provisional 40-man list for the tournament he was not included in the final 25-man list that was released. However, following Boniface's injury, he has been drafted in as a replacement.

However, the call-up came at short notice, giving Nice the power to decide when he would be able to leave the club for the Nations Cup. Subsequently, Moffi will only be able to resume camp after Nice’s Ligue One game against Rennes on Saturday.

Moffi will thus join the team in Ivory Coast and he will not be listed for the game against Equatorial Guinea but should be available for the second game against the hosts on January 18. Moffi, 24, has registered six goals and two assists in 16 appearances for Nice in the French league this season.

Meanwhile, Governor Babajide Sanwoolu of Lagos State has urged the Super Eagles to give their best and make the nation proud at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations. Speaking at a reception for the team as they left Lagos, the governor urged the team to try and win the trophy for a fourth time.

Nigeria's Super Eagles have been tipped to be among the favourites to win the tournament as the team boasts some of the best attackers on the continent. Charging the players to work together as a team and not rely on individuals, Gov Sanwoolu assured the Eagles of his support and that of 200m Nigerians, who will derive a lot of pride and joy in the team’s success at the Nations Cup.