Tom Saintfiet: Gambia National Team Manager Names Favourite Team to Win AFCON 2023

• Tom Saintfiet has named his favourites to win the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations
• The Belgian manager led Gambia to their first-ever AFCON appearance in 2021
• The 2023 edition will be held in Ivory Coast from January 13 to February 11, 2024

Belgian manager Tom Saintfiet has disclosed the favourite team to win the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, which will be held in Ivory Coast this year.

The former Namibian national team coach will lead Gambia to the competition for the second time in a row, with their first time being the last edition in Cameroon.

Gambia were the lowest-ranked team in the 2021 edition, and they made it to the last eight before they were knocked out by the host Cameroon in Douala.

In a recent interview with Nigerian radio station Brila FM, as per Complete Sports, Saintfiet tipped Nigerians to win the competition this year in Abidjan.

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"Everyone knows my passion and love for Nigerian football," he said.

"It will be interesting to see how Nigeria will perform because, for me, they are one of the favourites. It's been 11 years since (Late) Stephen Keshi won it for them."

The Super Eagles last won the competition in 2013 in South Africa, but they have yet to reach the final since then.

Nigeria are in one of the trickiest groups in the competition. They are grouped alongside the host nation, the Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, and Guinea-Bissau.

The three-time champions have the most valuable squad out of the 24 teams that qualified for the tournament.

They have top players like Victor Osimhen, Victor Boniface, Samuel Chukwueze, and Alex Iwobi in their ranks.

They are among the teams to watch in the 34th edition of the most prominent African football event this year.

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Sports Brief previously reported that three African powerhouses have been tipped by Super Eagles legend Mutiu Adepoju as the favourites to win the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, scheduled to kick off in Ivory Coast next year.

According to Punch, the former Nigerian international Mutiu Adepoju, who won the tournament with Nigeria in 1994, believes the AFCON 2023 title will come down to one of three countries.