Rigobert Song, the head coach of the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon has revealed that his boys do not fear Nigerian striker and current African footballer of the year, Victor Osimhen.
He made this known on Friday in Abidjan at the team’s news conference ahead of the round of 16 of the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Cote d’Ivoire.
The last two AFCON meetings between both sides have ended in favour of Nigeria. They will be looking to make it three on the bounce with a victory in the last-16 clash this Saturday.
Osimhen has not shown his best form at the 2023 AFCON, as he has just scored one goal in three fixtures so far.
But Song knows what the 25-year-old is capable of doing on his good day on the field.
“Osimhen is a big player,” Song told the Guardian, as per Yahoo Sports.
“We know him and respect him. But respecting him doesn’t mean that we should fear him.”
Meanwhile, Song had said his team will play the Super Eagles of Nigeria on Saturday with respect.
The former Cameroon captain explained that Nigeria has strong players individually and collectively but they will approach the game with all seriousness.
“We will stick to the positive, we are trying to improve our game daily. Nigeria is a good team.
“It is not going to be easy but we are going to take them serious. When we play a team that is serious, we will be serious too” Song said.
The Cameroonian coach said they are going to be organised, tactically and mentally, because they don’t have the luxury to make mistakes anymore.
“We have conceded lots of goals but we will find a way to concede less tomorrow. We need to believe in ourselves to give the best we can” he said.
On his part, Jose Peseiro, said it is going to be a tough match because they are against eight times champions, adding that both Cameroon and Nigeria are big teams.
“We know what we must do if we want to beat Cameroon, we don’t want to concede goals, at least we must score one.
“Our objective is to win the match, we know the power of the opponents, the quality of the players and coach. We believe too much in us” Peseiro said.
FC Nantes winger, Moses Simon, who accompanied Peseiro to the news conference, said himself and his teammates will give their all to win on Saturday
