The Super Eagles of Nigeria are set to take on the Mambas of Mozambique at the Complexe de Fes in their round of 16 clash in the AFCON 2025 tournament, Soccernet.ng reports.
Fulham defender Calvin Bassey has warned his teammates against complacency, citing Mali’s victory over Tunisia as a perfect example of why things can quickly go haywire in the African Cup of Nations.
Nigeria secured three points in all of their group stage games, while Mozambique qualified for the knockout rounds with just one win, advancing as one of the best-placed third teams.
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Super Eagles: Calvin Bassey eyes victory against Mozambique
With a place in the quarter final up for grabs, the former Rangers defender has urged his Nigerian teammates not to underestimate their opponents.
“Never underestimate any team. We can’t underestimate any team. Look at yesterday’s game, Tunisia had 11 men, Mali had ten men, and they won. They took it all the way to penalties,” the 26-year-old told NFF Media.
“For us, we have all the big names on paper, but it’s about focusing on ourselves and making sure we do everything right, executing the game plan we have.
Despite maintaining a 100% record in their group stage games, Eric Chelle’s men failed to keep a clean sheet in any of those games.
Bassey maintains that the goals they conceded could’ve been avoided and insisted that the team, collectively, has to do better defensively.
“Of course, you always want to keep a clean sheet; it’s something Semi [Ajayi] and I talk about.
“Obviously, being the centre-backs, organising, if you look at the games we’ve played, it’s the little details, and now, we have to make sure that going into the next stages, we don’t concede those types of goals, and it’s a collective effort.
“The attack starts from us, behind, and the defence starts from the boys in front, and they’ve been doing amazing.
“We can do more, but it’s the little details that we can focus on, and hopefully, we’ll concede less,” the versatile centre-back concluded.
Nigeria’s clash against Mozambique will be played at the Complexe de Fes, with kick-off slated for 8:00 PM WAT on Monday.