African footballer of the year Victor Osimhen was always Nigeria’s biggest hope coming into the Cup of Nations, but there is even more pressure on his shoulders after the withdrawal due to injury of fellow goal-scorer Victor Boniface.
The Super Eagles begin their AFCON campaign in Ivory Coast against Equatorial Guinea on Sunday before also facing the hosts and outsiders Guinea-Bissau in Group A.
Nigeria are looking to win a fourth Cup of Nations, which would see them draw level with the tally of rivals Ghana, and their attacking armada is what made them appear genuine contenders to go all the way.
Osimhen, 25, won the African player of the year award off the back of his brilliant form in Napoli’s run to the Serie A title.
He scored 26 goals for his club last season to become one of the most coveted forwards in world football, although he has struggled in comparison in this campaign, netting only eight times.
Osimhen also struck 10 times in AFCON qualifying.
This is a big tournament for him after he hardly featured as Nigeria finished third at the 2019 AFCON and sat out the last edition two years ago due to a combination of a facial injury and a bout of Covid.
“I want to win the AFCON with my country and write my own legacy. All the greats in Nigeria have a title to their name and to be mentioned in that space I must win it too,” he told Al Jazeera recently, as the Super Eagles aim to win the continental title for the first time since 2013.