Joe Aribo, Super Eagles midfielder, is excited about the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Sierra Leone and Mauritius in 2023.
Aribo, who has been training with the rest of the Eagles in the United States for international friendlies, played 90 minutes in Nigeria’s 2-1 loss to Mexico at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, last weekend.
The 25-year-old had a busy season with his Scottish side Rangers in the recently finished 2021/22 season, appearing 56 times for the Light Blue and scoring nine goals and assisting on ten occasions.
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The former Charlton Athletic attacking midfielder expressed his excitement that the games are approaching ahead of the Eagles’ next friendly against Ecuador on June 2.
“I’m excited. We are ready to go. We want to win the games and I can’t wait to get going”, he told Brila FM in an interview on Tuesday.
Aribo admitted that the failure of Nigeria to qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar was difficult for him to accept.
“It was difficult for me to take.
“I came back to my club but it was with me for some time, but I just had to say to myself that God has a plan, it wasn’t to be for some reason, but we can’t question God; God knows the best”, he noted.
The Nigerian number 10 hailed his season as “excellent” and “long,” claiming that his statistics and performance were outstanding.
Aribo and his side were chasing a treble, but they lost both their league championship defence and the UEFA Europa League final on penalties to German club Eintracht Frankfurt. However, he and his team won the Scottish Cup.
“Firstly, I’ll say it’s a long one. I played a lot of games.
“But on a serious note, it was a good season.
“I got a lot of numbers like stat wise, like say I wanted to get a bit more, especially from where I was from the start of the season compared to how many I got in the second half of the season, but a little bit disappointed because we couldn’t win the Europa League,” Aribo lamented.
On June 9, Nigeria will play the Leone Stars, followed by Mauritius four days later.