Ighalo; I want to win AFCON trophy and not Golden Boot

Super Eagles forward Odion Ighalo says he would prefer winning the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) trophy with the Eagles than winning Golden boot award.

Ighalo is the AFCON joint top scorer with Adam Ounas of Algeria and Sadio Mane of Senegal with the trio scored three goals each in the tournament so far.

Responding to a question at the pre-match conference held at the Cairo stadium yesterday ahead of today’s quarter-final clash between Nigeria and South Africa, the Shanghai Shenhua of China forward said he will work very hard to see that Nigeria win the trophy while the top scorer award will be a bonus to his performance.

“Yeah, it will be nice to win it but I will put more priority on winning the AFCON title than Golden boot award. If I do not win the Golden Boot award and we win the trophy, I will be very happy because we are here to do that. I am a striker and I want to score goals but if the goals do not come and we are winning, our matches I would be more satisfied,” Ighalo said.

The former Watford of England forward has also said he is not worried with series of criticism he received from Nigerian soccer fans due to his performance on the field of play.

Ighalo received lots of bashing from Nigerians following his low performance at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
The former Udinese of Italy striker said he is focused and determined to always give his best to the country.

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“I do not really pay attention to critics because I am a professional and people are bound to criticize me. I think everybody here has been criticized one way or the other but you don’t let that get to you. I just do my job as long as my coach is satisfied with my job and everything I give in the field of play. I do not really pay attention to what people say outside there, I just do my job and give my best, sometimes it might not be enough but I am satisfied and I will always give my best,” Ighalo added.