Nigeria have insisted they are not afraid to come up against seeded teams Ghana or Ivory Coast in the first round of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.

There is a big possibility that the Super Eagles could be pitched against Cote d’Ivoire or Ghana as early as the first round of next year’s Nations Cup when the draw is made on October 24 in South Africa.

However, Eagles defenders Elderson Echiejile and Efe Ambrose as well as winger Ahmed Musa expressed confidence they will hold their own against any of the seeded teams for this tournament.

“They are good teams, but we have the quality to beat. We are not scared of any of them,” Sporting Braga star Echiejile told MTNFootball.com

“At Angola 2010, we also faced defending champions Egypt in the first round and still made it to the semi-finals. So, there is no big deal about meeting Ghana or Cote d’Ivoire as early as the first round in South Africa.”

Celtic ace Ambrose said it should even be a case of other teams avoiding Nigeria and not the other way round.

“I am not afraid of facing Cote d’Ivoire or Ghana or any other team. They are both strong sides but we are a very good team as well who fear no team,” Ambrose said.

“The question should be who would like to be in the same group with Nigeria?”

CSKA Moscow winger Ahmed Musa said Nigeria have the class and drive to do well in South Africa and so cannot afford to be intimidated by any team.

“Why should I be afraid of playing against country who have players like me? We have a quality team, so any team in our group know they are in for serious trouble,” the Russia-based forward declared.