Dream Team VII Head Coach Imama Amakapabo says he’s aware of the competitive level of the Under-23 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
Nigeria will be defending the championship they won in Senegal next month in Egypt and the team have been drawn against South Africa, Ivory Coast and Zambia in the Olympics qualifying tournament.
However, Imama admitted that there are no more easy matches on the continent and the Under-23 AFCON in Egypt won’t be an exception.
“We know the kind of games we are preparing for, and we believe that it is going to be tough, but we have been preparing as we should,’’ he said.
The gaffer added that only one foreign-based player has reported to camp out of the invited three and he hope that more players would soon be joining the camp.
“Right now, we have in camp with us one (Kelechi Nwakali) out of the three foreign-based players invited and we are hopefully expecting the others to arrive at the camp within the next few days.
“But their early arrival will enable us to get a clearer picture of our preparations for the competition,’’ he said.
The Under-23 AFCON is scheduled for Nov. 8 to Nov. 22 in Egypt and Nigeria matches are expected to hold at the Al Salam Stadium.
The top three teams at the tournament will qualify for the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Nigeria will begin the quest for the Olympics tickets against Cote d’Ivoire on Nov. 9 in Cairo, before taking on Zambia on Nov. 12 and South Africa on Nov. 15.
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