Super Eagles deputy captain Willian Troost-Ekong said the team will take this Nigeria vs Sao Tome (4pm at Godswill Akpabio Stadium) clash seriously despite having secured their ticket for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast in January 2024.

Nigeria have already booked their place for the biggest football competition across the continent.

After being eliminated in the last 16 round during the last AFCON in Cameroon, the Super Eagles are aiming to perform better in Ivory Coast and are among the favourites to win the tournament.

In order to achive that goal, PAOK FC centre-back Troost-Ekong said he and his teammates will attack this afternoon’s game as any other one to make their fans happy.

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“We are taking the game seriously and thinking about the fact that we have already qualified for the AFCON,” he said in his pre-match press conference.

“If you see the boys in training, everyone has worked real hard, not thinking about whether we have qualified or not.

“We want to make the fans happy by putting up a good performance on Sunday. Uyo has always been a good ground for us. We had a good run during the 2018 World Cup qualifiers here.

“You can be sure we will do our best to make Nigerians proud.”