Nigeria captain Joseph Yobo admits he is baffled by the side's failure at past Africa Cup of Nations tournaments, but is determined to end his long wait for the continental crown this year.
------------------------------------------------------------
Predict result and win big with Soccer6
------------------------------------------------------------
The Fenerbahce centre-back is currently participating in his sixth AFCON finals, having finished with a bronze medal in four of the last five competitions.
The Super Eagles face a tough task of progressing to the 2013 semi-finals as they face last year's beaten finalists Cote d'Ivoire at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium on Sunday.
This year's showpiece arguably represents the 32-year-old's last chance to lay his hands on the trophy, and he is determined to make that dream a reality.
"This is my sixth Africa Cup of Nations. It's tough, I don't believe that we haven't been able to win," he said. "I've played with teams in the past that have been very strong but we never went to the finals, now we are here to win.
"We are in the quarter-finals and we have great players. Personally, I am here to win the cup, I want to win it because it is my sixth participation."
When asked about Nigeria's tag as the underdogs going into the tie, Yobo said: "If you put the squad that they have on paper, you can naturally say that we are the underdogs.
"But football is very different. They [Ivory Coast] lost at the last tournament in the final against Zambia and they were favourites there as well."
Your Comments
cedricmj
"U right Yobo.its now or never.u been a loyal soldier for Nigeria for years nd I think u deserve something.Gold.Good luck to u nd Nigeria against Ivory Coast"
All comments on this story