This Nigeria squad is better than the 2013 AFCON champions — Omeruo

Kenneth Omeruo, who along with Ahmed Musa are the only members of the current Super Eagles crop to partake in the 2013 AFCON triumph, has compared both sides.  

The 29-year-old centre-back is one of the leaders in the Nigerian squad as they prepare to get revenge against Guinea-Bissau after a disappointing 1-0 first-leg loss in Abuja.

He suggested that this current team had all it took to go all the way as they were better than the team that won the AFCON in 2013, Nigeria's last continental success in the senior men's game.  

Omeruo told Pulse Sports exclusively ahead of the Super Eagles clash against Guinea-Bissau tomorrow that the present Nigerian team had more quality than the 2013 set he was part of.  

We asked him, as a senior member of this relatively young team, what input in terms of guidance he transmits to the team, being from Nigeria's last triumphant era, to ensure the Super Eagles do not lose their status as giants of Africa.

In response, Omeruo assured that he, along with the captain, Ahmed Musa, had taken up the mantle of leadership, steering their younger colleagues onto the right path. 

"Believe me, we have better players now, with better quality now than we did when we won the AFCON," Omeruo told Pulse Sports. 

"And this is why I think it's something we can definitely do, you know, and my role is to, you know, do my best on the pitch and try to advise especially the new ones coming in.

"The coaches, they do a great job in training. They make sure, you know, the videos are available for us to watch the opponent and practice.

"So we know when we're going into the pitch, we are already."

Omeruo also believes that the quality of the team is so high that they were unlucky to lose against the Djurtus, and he believes that in the game tomorrow, the Super Eagles will right the wrongs.

"I think we were just, like I said, a bit unlucky and, and, tomorrow by God's grace we will correct everything that was, that wasn't done right."

Nigeria lost their spot as group leaders when they lost 1-0 to the Djurtus in their own capital on Friday after a 29th-minute Mama Balde strike.  

They will have a chance tomorrow to reclaim the driving seat in the group. The Super Eagles are now in Guinea-Bissau, and as Omeruo has said, they will look to right the wrongs.