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Colin Udoh
Nigeria forward Moses Simon insists revenge is not motivating the Super Eagles as they prepare to face Algeria in Saturday’s Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinal, despite painful memories of their last knockout meeting.
Algeria eliminated Nigeria at the semifinal stage in 2019, when Riyad Mahrez’s late free kick sealed a 2-1 victory in Cairo en route to the Desert Foxes’ continental title triumph.
Eight players from Nigeria’s current squad, including Simon, were part of that team. Only two Algerian players remain from five years ago.
“I was there when they kicked us out in the semifinal in 2019,” the 30-year-old Simon said. “It’s different players now, different mindsets. At the same time, different players from Algeria also.”
Simon, competing in his fourth Africa Cup of Nations tournament, said the focus is purely on advancing in the competition rather than settling old scores.
“We don’t have anything about revenge in our mindset. We just want to play,” Simon said. “We are a team that works every day to win and to progress. That is our mentality.”
The Paris FC winger rejected the notion that North African opponents pose particular problems for Nigeria, pointing to the Super Eagles’ recent victory over Tunisia in the round of 16.
“I cannot tell you the North African teams are teams that give us trouble because we too are also a team that gives them trouble,” he said. “Every team is really good in this competition. African teams have made a lot of progress, so there are no small teams any more.”
After years at French club Nancy, Simon joined Ligue 1 rivals Paris FC at the start of the current season, where he met Algeria’s Ilan Kebbal and acknowledged his friendship with Algeria midfielder, who helped him settle at the new club.
“He’s a good guy, good player, technically sound. And he’s my friend,” Simon said. “He was there to help me when I arrived at the club. We are teammates over there but it’s a different game here. When it comes to this, if I can tackle him, I will tackle him if that is what helps us win the game.”
Simon also addressed the younger players in the squad, many of whom are competing at their first major tournament.
“Most of these young kids are not so young kids. They are playing abroad, they have clubs,” he said. “When they come for advice, we give them the motivation they deserve because this is Nigeria not the club.”
While Nigeria’s ethos has been about team unity, forwards Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman have been drawing attention for scoring most of Nigeria’s goals at this tournament, but Simon emphasized that their accomplishments were the result of team unity.
“We are all a team and we are united as you can see. We play for them. Before they score, someone gave them the ball to score,” he said. “They are the two players who have won the Africa best player award in the last couple of years, and we are all working towards one goal.”
Simon expressed that the team’s ambition for Saturday’s match in Marrakech was clear.
“We are motivated, we want to win. We are not going to try to win, we want to win,” he said. “This is our goal and we hope we have it.”
Nigeria are seeking to reach the semifinals and keep alive their pursuit of a fourth African title. The three-time champions last won the tournament in 2013 and finished runners-up to Ivory Coast in 2023.
