Super Eagles captain Wilfred Ndidi on Sunday said the players discussed Nigeria’s brutal round of 16 knockout by Tunisia at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon to avoid a similar outcome in the clash against Mozambique on Monday.

Speaking to the media at the pre-match press conference ahead of the match, the 29-year-old said the incident in Cameroon serves as a reminder for the team, following the current squad’s 2021 feat of winning all their group stage matches in Morocco.

Nigeria suffered a shocking 1-0 round-of-16 loss to Tunisia in the 2021 tournament, despite being the favourites.

“It is a reminder, but we are not focused on the past,” Ndidi said. “History is always there. Some of the players here were not part of the team in Cameroon, but most of them saw it on TV.

“So it is just a reminder that you can be very good at one point, but at the next point, you can be knocked out, but we are mostly focusing on Mozambique.”

He added, “This is our team, so we are going into the next game to get something out of it, so what happened in the past is just a reminder and not the main focus.”

Speaking further on whether the team is concerned about the possibility of Mozambique pulling off a surprise victory against Nigeria despite winning only one match in the group stage, Besiktas midfielder maintained that the players have been on red alert since the first game of the tournament.

He also noted that the Eagles will not underestimate any team, as every nation in Morocco is capable of winning the AFCON. He stressed that they are focused on themselves before anybody else.

“Since the beginning of the competition, we have been on red alert for every game. This game is not a different game; every team in this tournament is capable of winning it.

“So we are focused on ourselves, our team, and our plans, so whichever team we meet, either Mozambique or any other team, we want to focus on ourselves,” Ndidi stated.