Uganda Cranes striker, Uche Ikpeazu, has admitted he is unsure how he would react if he finds the net against Nigeria’s Super Eagles when both sides clash in Tuesday’s Group C encounter at the Africa Cup of Nations.
The 30-year-old forward has deep personal ties to both nations. Born in Harrow, London, Ikpeazu has a Nigerian father from Delta State and a Ugandan mother, making the fixture a particularly emotional one for him.
Ikpeazu began his career at Reading’s academy before joining Watford in 2013. He spent three years with the Hornets without breaking into the first team, gaining experience through loan spells at Crewe Alexandra, Doncaster Rovers, Port Vale and Blackpool.
He later moved to Cambridge United in August 2016, where he spent two seasons before signing for Heart of Midlothian in April 2018.
During his time with Hearts, he featured in the 2019 Scottish Cup final defeat.
His international journey with Uganda began under former head coach Jonathan McKinstry, who named him in the squad for two AFCON qualifiers in March 2020, fixtures that were eventually postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ikpeazu finally made his senior debut on 5 September 2025, coming off the bench in a 4–0 victory over Mozambique.
He opened his AFCON scoring account last Saturday, netting Uganda’s goal in a 1–1 draw with Tanzania.
With the Cranes needing a win over already-qualified Nigeria to have any chance of reaching the round of 16, the stakes could not be higher.
Asked during Uganda’s training session whether he would celebrate if he scored against the three-time African champions, Ikpeazu said, “In football sometimes your emotions get the better of you so I don’t know but I will see how it goes but I don’t have any plans celebration or anything like that.
“If I score that would be wonderful but the most important thing is to get the three points.”
Reflecting on what it means to feature and score at the tournament, he added, “Playing and also scoring in the AFCON is amazing because considering last season I was out for almost a year and I had to work extremely hard to get back.
“You want to play at the highest level possible and obviously you know I have overcome so much trials and tribulations and to play in the Africa Cup of Nations has been a dream of mine.
“It’s amazing but I have a lot of dreams to progress into the next round, I don’t want the journey to finish I feel like it’s just getting started.”
