Former Super Eagles forward, Julius Aghahowa has praised Nigeria’s recent Unity Cup victory as a boost to team confidence, but warned that such matches must be taken more seriously to ensure readiness for upcoming major competitions.
Speaking after the national team’s win, Aghahowa highlighted the importance of treating friendlies and minor tournaments as platforms for critical self-evaluation and growth, rather than mere ceremonial exercises.
“Winning the Unity Cup is a good one, at least it rebuilds the confidence of the players for further games,” said Aghahowa.
‘We Are Building A Team’ – Aghahowa
While acknowledging the morale boost, the former striker spoke on the need for greater professionalism and tactical introspection during friendly matches and invitational tournaments.
“However, when we are playing these games, we need to take away that we are building a team and so we need to look at the areas where we need improvements and so that we can be more professional and serious.”
He cautioned that performances in qualifiers have often not reflected the ambition of a team aiming for continental and global success.
“This is because when we come to play tournaments like the Nations Cup qualifiers or World Cup qualifiers, the kind of display we see is not the kind of display that a serious team who want to go for a tournament will display.”
“So I think we should learn from this. This Unity Cup will be an avenue and then further friendlies that will come after that, we will learn from it and so we can prepare our team seriously.”
Aghahowa, who featured for Nigeria at the 2002 FIFA World Cup and multiple AFCON tournaments, is among several ex-internationals advocating for better preparation and consistency from the Super Eagles as they gear up for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations and the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
The Unity Cup was organized as part of Nigeria’s build-up to those events and featured a mix of local and foreign-based players.
