The 34th Africa Cup of Nations is expected to start on January 13, with Nigeria considered one of the favourites. The Super Bucks are in the same group as hosts Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea and Guinea-Bissau. Former Nigeria international Secia believes Nigeria have a good chance of winning the game as current head coach Jose Pesiro has a lot of quality players in his squad.
Nigeria last won the Africa Cup of Nations in 2013. However, former Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure does not see Nigeria as one of the favourites to win the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations. Toure, who currently serves as an assistant coach for Saudi Arabia, listed Ivory Coast, Senegal, South Africa, Guinea-Bissau and Morocco as teams he thinks are expected to win the upcoming matches.
Former Nigerian coach Olise and other Nigerians, including Odion Ighalo, have criticised the Nigerian Football Association (NFF) for neglecting homegrown players in their Africa Cup of Nations reserves. He argues that the NFF "kills everything homegrown" while ignoring homegrown talent. Nigeria will face Ivory Coast on 18 January in the second match of Group A of the group stage, with both teams aiming to be favourites to qualify for the knockout rounds. The Africa Cup of Nations will be held from 13 January to 11 February, with a total of 24 countries competing for the continental honour.