Calvin Bassey: Super Eagles Superstar Breaks Silence After Afcon Heartbreak

• Calvin Bassey was one of the better performers for Nigeria at the 2023 AFCON
• The Fulham star has broken his silence after Nigeria lost out in the final
• He played the full 90 minutes in five of the Super Eagles’ six games

Fulham centre-back Calvin Bassey has finally broken his silence after the Super Eagles suffered heartbreak in the Africa Cup of Nations final on Sunday, February 11.

The 24-year-old was at the heart of Nigeria’s defence during the tournament and helped his side keep an impressive four straight clean sheets in the run-up to the semi-final.

Defence was one of the Super Eagles’ strongholds, but unfortunately, it was not enough in the final as hosts Ivory Coast came from behind to secure a dramatic 2-1 win at the Stade Olympique Alassane Ouattara.

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Like all of the Nigeria players, Bassey was extremely disappointed with the result, which affirmed an all-too familiar trend for the Super Eagles in AFCON finals.

Barely 48 hours after the defeat, the centre-back took to X, formerly Twitter to share a message of appreciation to fans while making a vow at the same time.

“Gutted. We gave everything out there & really wanted to bring it home for Nigeria. Thank you for all the love we’ve felt this tournament, it’s been an amazing journey & we’ve got a special group here to build with. We’ll be back. We win together & lose together. 10Q, God bless,” he wrote to his 77,000 followers.

What next for Bassey?

Bassey is now set to return to Fulham, who have just survived a gruelling string of fixtures in his absence.

Since a 3-0 defeat to Bournemouth on Boxing Day 2023, The Cottages have come up against Arsenal, Liverpool (Carabao Cup), Chelsea, Newcastle and Everton.

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Their latest game was a reverse fixture against the Cherries which they comfortably won 3-1 at Craven Cottage.

Bassey is hoping to get back into the squad in time for their next game, a crunch fixture against Aston Villa on Saturday, February 17, per the club's website.

Iwobi wipes out Instagram photos

Elsewhere, another Fulham star, Alex Iwobi, is having a different social media experience after Nigeria’s AFCON heartbreak.

As Sports Brief reported, Iwobi reportedly wiped out photos from his Instagram amid consistent social media abuse from irate fans.

The former Arsenal man has had to adjust to playing a deep-lying playmaker in Jose Peseiro’s 3-4-3 alongside Frank Oneyka - a role he was not very familiar with.