Captain of Nigeria Under 23 football team, Okechukwu Azubuike has told www.aclsports.com that he “feels” his side will win when they face Sudan on Thursday.
Both teams meet at the Al Merriekh Stadium in Omdurman in their first leg, final round of qualification for the Under-23 Africa Cup of Nations billed for Egypt in November.
Azubuike is one of six foreign based players in Nigeria’s 18-man squad for Thursday’s game and the midfielder sees some form of hunger for success in his teammates.
“I’ve been with the boys for a day now and I can tell you the team is prepared, the boys are hungry to make names for themselves and that’s a good sign,” said the Turkey based star.
The Nigerian team arrived Omdurman in the early hours of Wednesday and will have to quickly acclimatise to the humid conditions in the East African country.
Temperatures were at a sweltering 40°C on Wednesday but Azubuike feels it will not stop Imama Amapakabo’s side from winning the game.
“The weather is very hot actually and then we had our second training together this evening. But I feel we are going to win the game tomorrow,” added the 22-year old.
The game will kick off at 7pm local time in Omdurman (5pm in Nigeria) with the second leg billed for the Stephen Keshi Stadium in Asaba next Tuesday.