Sevilla striker Akor Adams has promised to build on his encouraging debut performance as Nigeria edged Tanzania 2-1 in their AFCON Group C opener on Tuesday night in Fez, Morocco.

The 25-year-old, making his first appearance at the AFCON, started alongside Victor Osimhen in the Super Eagles’ attack.

Adams was involved in several promising moves and came agonizingly close to scoring in the first half when his header struck the crossbar.

Speaking after the game, Adams, confident in his physical condition, remains unfazed and believes his goals will come.

“I feel good, my confidence mostly come from my physical shape and I feel very good on the pitch,” he said.

“The goal will come, the assist will come, for now we focus on taking the points, it's the group stage we take as much point as possible to make it through to the next round.”

The former Flying Eagles striker also expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the game, emphasizing the importance of securing the victory.

 “To improve on what we did today, it was a good game from our side. Most important thing in tournaments is victory, not so much on how you play, we came for the victory and we got it and we just work on that.” 

He also addressed Nigeria’s absence from the 2026 World Cup, stressing that it does not diminish the team’s ambitions in the continental competition.

“No that's not the pressure, we come to win, and everybody came to win. So we are not coming with a different ambition than any other country.” 

“Yes we missed out on the World Cup like some other countries did. It's very sad, we are still very sad about it, but we plan to go as far as possible and we are working towards it.”

With this victory, Nigeria sits second in Group C and will face Tunisia in their second group match.

The Super Eagles are focused on securing another win to strengthen their chances of topping the group and advancing to the knockout stage.

Adeyemi Adewale