Okocha; I’m happy with Chukwueze

Erstwhile Super Eagles’ captain, Austin Jay Jay Okocha has showered encomiums on Villarreal forward, Samuel Chukwueze following his impressive display in Nigeria’s 3-1 victory against Sudan in the match day 2 of the ongoing African Cup of Nations in Cameroon.

Chukwueze opened his AFCON 2021 goal account in the three minutes of the game before Union Berlin striker, Taiwo Awoniyi doubled the tally with a fluke in the 45th minute of the duel.

Shortly after the resumption for the second half, Moses Simon struck to give Nigeria three goals advantage after which Mohamed Hussein tucked in a spot kick for Sudan after the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) spotted an infringement by Ola Aina with 20 minutes left on the clock.

Reacting to the encounter, Okocha in an interview section monitored in Lagos, stated that Chukwueze deserves Praises for unsettling the Falcons with his early goal. He however stated that the player remains the key behind Super Eagles success.

“ I’m very happy with Chukwueze. He has done well by scoring the opener which unsettled the Sudanese Falcons.

“His early goal really helped the Eagles and I see him doing more in next game.

“ He has got space and he knows how to handle the ball. I just hope he keeps this form to help the team soar high in Cameroon,” he stated.

He however charged Taiwo Awoniyi to improve on his goal scoring prowess despite doubling the lead with a lucky goal.

“ Awoniyi is no doubt fantastic but I believe he ought to have done more by scoring a clear chance in the second half of the game. He must learn to convert chances for this will really help him get more goals and maintain his stand in the team.’

Having grabbed the knockout ticket, the three time African Champion will on Wednesday file out against Guinea Bissau in the last group game of the tourney.