No need to compete with Osimhen and Boniface for AFCON spot – Awoniyi

Nottingham Forest striker Taiwo Awoniyi has insisted that he feels no pressure to outshine fellow Super Eagles forwards Victor Osimhen and Victor Boniface ahead of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, Soccernet.ng reports. 

The Super Eagles of Nigeria are slated to return to the AFCON campaign held in Morocco at the end of the year, having secured their tickets by topping the Group D table with 11 points.

Meanwhile, the former Union Berlin star has not played for the Super Eagles of Nigeria this year, featuring for Nigeria last year during their 1-nil victory against Libya at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo.

Speaking candidly on Humble Boots about the competition within Nigeria’s attacking line, Awoniyi said he doesn’t see himself needing to knock off anyone to earn a place in the squad.

“I think I knock them off sometimes. That’s all football is all about. Football is all about competition. If it’s your moment, it’s your moment. In all fairness to all these big names you’ve mentioned, I believe if it’s my moment, many of them will watch me playing as well,” Awoniyi said.

“So that’s football. I don’t see them knocking me off or seeing myself get knocked off. I think it’s all about momentum. If it’s their time, it’s their time. If it’s my time, it’s my time, and that’s how I see football. Whereas, maybe the fans see it in another way, but we who play football know what football is all about, it’s beyond what it’s on the field of play.

“When it comes to the Super Eagles, like you’ve mentioned, it’s never on you to make the decision. You can never say, ‘Okay I want to be in the first 11, I want to be in the next game, I want to be the top striker’ It’s never your call. The best you can do is develop yourself to who you want to be, and that’s all it is.”

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When asked if he ever thought of doing something extra to gain an edge over Osimhen and Boniface in the national team, the 27-year-old dismissed any such intentions.

“I’ve never thought that I want to be better than this, I want to be better than that. I believe everyone’s destiny is different. I’ve never chased the goal of being better than someone else, I just want to be the best version of myself this year. Whether it’s playing or whether it’s not playing, I just want to be better than who I am.

“Of course, if you are not playing, maybe people cannot see that, but ‘what are you doing when you are not playing’? It’s just to develop myself. So when the opportunity comes to play for Nigeria or my club (Nottingham Forest), I am ready to do it. But I have never had the intention of ‘I want to be better than Osimhen, I want to be better than Boniface, I want to be better than that’.”

Even with the AFCON around the corner, the former Liverpool forward maintains that his focus remains on developing his game.

“Nah, that’s not me. Everyone knows who I am. I believe people understand me as a person. Everyone sees the world differently, but I don’t believe I need to be better than this person to make it to the AFCON. I want to be better at what I am doing for myself.

“If it’s getting more minutes, if it’s scoring goals, then I will get to the AFCON, so I don’t need to push to be better than Osimhen or Boniface to get to the AFCON.”

Awoniyi has made just 10 appearances for the Super Eagles of Nigeria, scoring two goals. As the 2013 AFCON champions gear up for a four-nation tournament featuring Ghana, Trinidad and Tobago, and Jamaica, the Nottingham Forest striker will be hoping to earn a spot in Eric Chelle’s squad for the matches at Brentford.