The Tigers ace will go in search of a semi-final place this weekend
Semi Ajayi has been a pivotal figure so far for Nigeria in AFCON(Image: Torbjorn Tande/DeFodi Images/DeFodi via Getty Images)
Semi Ajayi admits reaching his half-century of caps for Nigeria is a dream come true, as he looks to take another big step towards Africa Cup of Nations glory.
Hull City defender Ajayi reached 50 caps in the 4-0 thumping of Mozambique on Monday, playing his third 90 minutes in the four games so far in Morocco.
The Super Eagles play Algeria in the quarter-final on Saturday afternoon in Marrakech, looking for a place in the final four, and Ajayi will be a key figure in those hopes.
“Honestly, that is a dream come true,” he told reporters. “As a young kid growing up, I never imagined getting even one cap for the Super Eagles, so to reach fifty is amazing. I am just looking to get as many as I can.”
Moving on from their disappointment at failing to qualify for the World Cup this summer, Nigeria looked strong so far, but remains the third favourite to lift the title behind hosts Morocco and Senegal.
“That’s what we’ve been striving towards,” Ajayi said of the clean sheet and victory against Mozambique. “As a defender, we always pride ourselves on clean sheets, so the fact that we were able to get one was really good.
“There’s still things we need to improve on, and luckily, the team is improving game by game, so we’re looking forward to improving again for the next one.”
“Every game has got harder and harder as the stakes get higher and higher. The concentration needs to be higher, so each game progressively has been more difficult.”
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