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NAN-S-9
Surprises
By Aderonke Ojediran-Lawal
Lagos, Jan. 27, 2017 (NAN) Ike Shorunmu, a former Super Eagles goalkeeper, says the quarter-finals stage of the ongoing Africa Cup of
Nations (AFCON) in Gabon will pop-up surprises.
Shorunmu, who won a silver medal with the Super Eagles at the 2000 Ghana-Nigeria AFCON, stated this in an interview with the
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Friday.
He said the fate of the defending champions of the tournament, Cote d’ Ivoire, was not entirely unexpected because the team took things
for granted the way Nigeria did by not qualifying.
Cue in audio (Shorunmu)
“As defending champion, if they didn’t teach themselves very well they get the shock.
“The same thing applied to us, Nigeria team didn’t qualify; well so far so good it wasn’t a bad tournament, we will still be going to see
some surprises when we come to the quarter-final.”
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The former national goalkeeper lauded the quality of tournament with the calibre of team and players on parade.
NAN reports that Cote d’Ivoire, AFCON’s defending champions and currently ranked 34th on FIFA rankings, crashed out of the tournament
after losing by a lone goal to Morocco on Tuesday.
Similarly, Algeria that is ranked 39th in the world also crashed out of the tournament from the group stage on Monday.
The Desert Foxes bade the 2017 AFCON goodbye, after battling to a pulsating 2-2 draw with Senegal who had already secured a berth in the
quarter-finals. (NAN)
OAF/ERO/OSA/YEE
Edited by Shittu Obassa/Emmanuel Yashim
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