Nigeria's Moses Simon and Super Eagles legend Daniel Amokachi were involved in a surprise interview session thanks to a new CAF initiative.
In its bid to strengthen the bond between ex-internationals and the present crop of players, the present parties laudably appreciated the opportunity to discuss the ongoing AFCON 2024 in Ivory Coast.
Simon, who coincidentally was born in the same state (Kaduna, Nigeria) as the Super Eagles legend, was delighted to meet “The Bull” Amokachi.
The former AFCON winner in 1994, who is currently in Ivory Coast with the African football body, congratulated the Nigerian winger and the rest of the team for qualifying for the quarter-finals, where Angola is Nigeria's next opponent.
He also confirmed to Simon that their fathers both hail from Benue state in the middle belt of Nigeria.
Can Super Eagles win AFCON 2024? Simon thinks so…
Simon, who was impressive in the victory over Cameroon in the Round of 16, discussed the tournament and his team's chances if they hope to emerge winners in a bid to win their first title since 2013.
Responding to questions from the legend, Simon admitted that this is one of the most difficult tournaments he has featured in.
“Generally, I would say that this is the most difficult AFCON that I have played in,” said the Nantes forward.
“There is a lot of competition like the last one in Cameroon and you can expect any country to win it because the competition is stiff.
On the team not scoring many goals despite finding the back of the net more than 20 goals in the qualifiers, Simon maintained that the manager's stance is emerging winners after every fixture and the entire group agreed to it.
“Actually, we have been so careful because we can score five goals and still lose at the end,” he continued.
“The coach just believes that what matters most is three points, and the entire group agreed to it because we want to go for the trophy.
“Whether I get on the score sheet or not, what matters most for us as a team is the win.”
Which Super Eagles legends are Simon's idols?
As a child who grew up playing football on the streets, the Nantes forward was asked to mention his favourite player and scorer in the Super Eagles.
He mentioned another legendary footballer, Jay Jay Okocha, as his favourite and the interview host as his favourite goal scorer especially because of his dance moves.
The pair closed out the session by showing some moves in the clip, with Simon looking to mimic Amokachi's goal celebration dance moves.
Amokachi, who is part of the CAF commentary team at AFCON 2024, will be supporting Simon and the rest of the team when they square off against the Palancas Negras of Angola on Friday for a place in the semi-finals.
