Former Nigeria international, Etim Esin has urged the Super Eagles to beat Angola in the 2023 AFCON quarter-finals in honour of the late Sam Okwaraji.
Etim Esin and Sam Okwaraji were in the national team when Angola visited Lagos, Nigeria for the 1990 World Cup qualifiers. The game was played in the 40,000-seating capacity National Stadium in Lagos.
Due to how important the game was, the stadium recorded an overflowing of spectators. Reports claimed that 20,000 extra people occupied the mainbow of the stadium making it 60,000 people instead of 40,000.
About 4,000 people were reportedly outside the stadium due to how jam-packed the football arena was. The overcrowded stadium led to the demise of 5 people according to reports. 
During the game, Sam Okwaraji who was 25-year-old then collapsed on the pitch barely 10 minutes after the kick-off of the keenly contested match. He was pronounced dead afterward.
Fortunately, the Eagles emerged winners of the match with a slim 1-0 scoreline and the players couldn’t celebrate the win as they were welcomed by the news of Okwaraji’s demise.
About 34 years later, Nigeria and Angola are meeting again but this time in the quarter-finals of the 2023 AFCON in Ivory Coast.
Ahead of the game which will kick off at 6 p.m. on Friday, February 2, Etim Esin urged the Super Eagles to go all the way in honour of the late Sam Okwaraji.
“Sam was my roommate. The thought of not seeing him again didn’t cross our minds. It’s really sad and it’s been so hard for me to forget about him because I was on the field with him that day. We had a dream for the 1990 World Cup, but it’s unfortunate because his death took away those dreams,” Esin said as quoted by the Punch.
“I want the Eagles to beat Angola in their next game on Friday in memory of the late Okwaraji because it will mean a lot. That same year, we defeated Cameroon before facing Angola and the boys did the same by beating Cameroon 2-0 in Abidjan. I hope they will beat Angola by at least 1-0, the same scoreline with which we defeated them 35 years ago.
“We know the Angolans can be dangerous but the Eagles just need to win the game.”
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