2023 AFCON: Nigeria, Sierra Leone Clash In Abuja

The Super Eagles of Nigeria will tomorrow at the Moshood Abiola Stadium, Abuja open their bid to qualify for the 2023 African Cup of Nations billed for Ivory Coast with their first Group A fixture against the Leone Stars of Sierra Leone. The Eagles under the tutelage of nascent Nigeria’s new coach, Jose Peseiro, would be aiming to return to the African championships with a bang, especially, after flattering to deceive in their last outing, where they were stopped by the Carthage Eagles of Tunisia in the second round in Cameroon.
However, they must first of all, negotiate their way past the Leone Stars, who only few months ago stared them in the eyes without blinking, home and away. On paper, the Super Eagles may appear as the favourites to open this Group A account with victory, but nothing is guaranteed. This is because, in the last two meetings between the two, the Eagles were in the ascendancy at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos, racing to a 4-0 lead before contriving to concede the lead and played out an unbelievable 4-4 draw. The return leg offered no better tale for Nigeria as it ended scoreless.
It is on this background that tomorrow’s clash would certainly be set. While the Super Eagles should be motivated to prove a point and show that they are a class above the opponents, the visitors would be buoyed by their last experience in standing up to the Nigerian team. The Leone Stars arrived Nigeria early and have been perfecting their strategy to take a major scalp in the group.
The Super Eagles on their part are just coming from a tour of the United States, where they took on Mexico and Ecuador in friendlies. Though the two games ended in defeat for coach Peseiro and his wards, they must have afforded the coach ample opportunity to see his team in competitive action from close quarters. It is expected that he should work to fix the lapses noticed in the games as they go for the real thing, beginning with Sierra Leone tomorrow before other dates with Sao Tome and Principe and Guinea Bissau for the tickets available from the group.
The facts are ominous for the Super Eagles though. They are winless in five games on the trot and the fact they conceded the first goal in four of those four encounters is telling. Coach Peseiro must, therefore, ensure that he gets his personnel and tactics spot on in order to begin the race on the front foot. After experimenting with Cyriel Dessers and Terem Moffi against Mexico and Ecuador, the return of Victor Osimhen is expected to add more verve to the attack, while Leon Balogun in defence and a tweak of the midfield should give the Eagles more balance and teeth to attack tomorrow’s opponents.
The plucky Leone Stars will certainly be aiming for an upset as coach John Keister would want see early advantage in the race go to his side. They may not possess as much individual quality as may be ascribed to the Super Eagles, but they have proven to be a stubborn and resilient unit. It this notion, that is expected to guide Coach Peseiro and his team as they file out tomorrow to battle the visitors.
Unfortunately, home comfort will count for little as the game billed for 5pm will be without fans, Nigeria, serving the sanction for fans’ misdemeanor last time out versus Black Stars of Ghana at same venue.

By: Gabriel Nwanetanya