Super Eagles midfielder, Joe Aribo, says he is psyched up for the upcoming 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Sierra Leone and Mauritius.
Aribo, who has been in camp with the other Eagles players for international friendlies in the United States of America, played 90 minutes in Nigeria’s 2-1 defeat to Mexico at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, last weekend.
The 25-year-old had a very busy season with his Scottish club Rangers in the just concluded 2021/22 season, in which he made 56 appearances for the Light Blue and scored nine goals with 10 assists.
Speaking ahead of Eagles next friendly game against Ecuador on June 2, the former Charlton Athletic of England attacking midfielder said he is excited that the games are almost here.
“I’m excited. We are ready to go. We want to win the games and I can’t wait to get going”, he told Brila FM in an interview on Tuesday.
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On Nigeria’s failure to qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Aribo disclosed that it was personally difficult for him to digest.
“It was difficult for me to take. I came back to my club but it was with me for some time, but I just had to say to myself that God has a plan, it wasn’t to be for some reason, but we can’t question God; God knows the best”, he noted.
The Nigerian number 10 described his season as “good” and “long”, stating that he got great numbers in terms of statistics and performance.
Aribo and his team were chasing a treble, but lost their league title defence to rivals Celtic, as well as the final of the UEFA Europa League to German club Eintracht Frankfurt on penalties. However, he won the Scottish Cup with his team.
“Firstly, I’ll say it’s a long one. I played a lot of games. But on a serious note, it was a good season. I got a lot of numbers like stat wise, like say I wanted to get a bit more, especially from where I was from the start of the season compared to how many I got in the second half of the season, but a little bit disappointed because we couldn’t win the Europa League,” Aribo lamented.
Nigeria will face the Leone Stars on June 9, and Mauritius four days later.
By Femi Ashaolu
