Alex Iwobi: Super Eagles Star Discloses Why Nigeria Were Defensive in Their Win Over Ivory Coast

• Alex Iwobi has explained why the Super Eagles were more defensive against Ivory Coast
• Nigeria grabbed their first AFCON 2023 win against the host nation on Thursday evening
• The former Arsenal midfielder also disclosed what the clean sheet meant to the team

Abidjan- Côte d’Ivoire. Super Eagles and Everton star Alex Iwobi has reacted to Nigeria's win over the host nation Ivory Coast at the ongoing 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

Nigeria claimed all three points with a 1-0 win over the Elephants at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan on Thursday evening.

During an exclusive interview with Sports Brief, Iwobi admitted that the win against the Elephants was a good result for the team after struggling against Equatorial Guinea in the first game.

"A win against the host nation after a draw in the first game is a great result for us, but we still have one more match to play, so we still have to keep going," he said.

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The Nigerian midfielder also disclosed why they were more defensive in the game despite having quality strikers in the team.

"We are a bit more defensive because we knew the host nation would have a lot of the ball and they would attack us with great quality, so we had to defend a bit more and took the chance when it came," he added.

The Everton midfielder also explained what the clean sheet means to the team.

" [The clean sheet] is a bonus to us since we defended as a team apart from Victor Osimhen upfront and the goalkeeper. The fact that we were able to stop the host nation from scoring [the clean sheet] is a big achievement in itself," he concluded.

Nigeria's next game will be against Guinea-Bissau on Monday, January 22, according to a report by Soccerway.

Nigerians unhappy with result against Equatorial Guinea

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Sports Brief previously reported on Nigerians sharing their views after the Super Eagles drew against Equatorial Guinea in the first game of the 2023 AFCON.

The result of the game stirred a lot of reactions from Nigerians on social media as most were not sure the team would win their next game.