Nigeria defender Elderson Echiejile has said the recent AFCON triumph will boost the team's confidence in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers. The Super Eagles were crowned African champions for a third time at the weekend in Johannesburg, South Africa.

They are currently top of a qualifying group for the World Cup that has Malawi, Namibia and Kenya with four points. They host Kenya next month in continuation of the qualifying series.

"What we achieved in South Africa has boosted our confidence as a team and as players and we hope this will rub off on the World Cup qualifiers as well because we want to not just qualify for Brazil 2014, but also set a record there," he said.

The Sporting Braga star is equally excited the Eagles will feature in the FIFA Confederations Cup, where they are drawn against world champions Spain, Tahiti and Uruguay.

"It will be a dress rehearsal for the World Cup, but on its own it's also a special event as not many teams get the chance to feature in this competition reserved for continental champions," he said. Nigeria featured at the 1995 version of the competition when it was then known as the King Fahd Cup. The Eagles beat Japan 3-0, drew 0-0 with Argentina before they lost on penalties to Mexico in a third-place playoff.