Nigeria replaces Victor Boniface ahead of AFCON kick-off

By Peter Ochieng

Nigeria head coach Jose Vitor dos Santos Peseiro has made changes to his Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) squad, less than a week before the tournament kicks-off in Ivory Coast.

French Ligue 1 side, Nice forward Terem Moffi has been called up, in place of injured Victor Boniface, who plies his trade in the German Bundesliga.

Bayer Leverkusen's Boniface was forced to withdraw from the tournament, due to a groin injury.

The 2024 tournament which will be the 34th edition starts on Saturday 13th January, and runs to 11th February, 2024.

Moffi made his international debut in June 2021, scoring four goals in 14 appearances. However, he initially failed to make the cut in coach Peseiro's side despite his six goals for Nice this season.

The 24-year-old will play his first Africa Cup of Nations alongside Napoli star Victor Osimhen. The Super Eagles are in Group A alongside hosts Ivory Coast, Guinea-Bissau and Equatorial Guinea.

Nigeria's first group match will be against Equatorial Guinea on January 14, in Abidjan.

There will be no debut nation at this year's finals, as all the 24 teams have competed at least once before in the continental showpiece.

Egypt have won the Cup of Nations title the most times with seven victories. They have also claimed three silver medals and three bronze, which means they have 13 in total.

Nigeria have the most medals overall with three gold, four silver and eight bronze.

Only 11 of the previous 33 host nations have lifted the Cup of Nations trophy on home soil, including South Africa in 1996. The last country to do it was Egypt in 2006.

Former Cameroon striker Samuel Eto’o holds the record for most goals at the Cup of Nations finals with 18 from 29 matches, across six tournaments between 2000 and 2010.