“We were fighting against destiny” – Nottingham Forest’s Ola Aina speaks on Nigeria’s AFCON 2023 final loss to Ivory Coast

Super Eagles and Nottingham Forest full-back, Olaoluwa Temitayo Aina, has reflected on Nigeria’s loss to Ivory Coast at the AFCON 2023 final, Soccernet.ng reports.

The versatile full-back played all seven games for Jose Peseiro’s men at the AFCON 2023 tournament hosted in Ivory Coast.

Jose Peseiro deployed the former Chelsea man across the right and left-wing back positions as the three-time AFCON Champions reached the final of the competition.

Nigeria were drawn into Group A alongside Equatorial Guinea, Ivory Coast and Guinea Bissau. The Super Eagles emerged victorious when they played against the Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire in their group game, with William Troost-Ekong’s spot-kick goal making all the difference.

Ivory Coast ended up qualifying for the knock-out stages despite finishing third in the group, and found their way to the final of the tournament, with their home support playing a key role.

Like in the group stage fixture, William Troost-Ekong broke the deadlock in the AFCON 2023 final, but the Ivorians kicked back, with Franck Kessié and Sébastien Haller scoring to turn the game on its head.

Aina didn’t have the best of games, but the former Torino man has suggested it was probably meant to be.

“It felt like we were fighting against destiny. You could feel the weight of Ivory Coast against us. Some decisions could have gone our way but I’m not that kind of player. Ultimately they did enough to beat us and fair play to them. We’ve been building this team since the 2019 Afcon when we came third with a young team. Getting to the final was a progression that showed we are nearly there,” the former Chelsea man said in quotes revealed by The Guardian.

Ola Aina was included in the AFCON 2023 Team of the Tournament despite playing in the final of the competition with an injury.

Adefolahan Guerreiro

Adefolahan is a multilingual journalist and writer at Soccernet Nigeria.

With a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering and a track record of involvement in College sports, Adefolahan is focused on crafting engaging football content and utilising his language skills and extensive sports knowledge to enhance content accessibility for a global audience.

He has interviewed Nigerian stars like Finidi George, Junior Lokosa, and Abraham Onahi Ogbu.