Nigeria
Nigeria Vs Guinea-Bissau: Africa Cup of Nations Qualifying Clash
Nigeria’s Impressive Start to Qualifiers
Two teams who have made fine starts to their respective Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaigns face off on Friday when Nigeria entertain the challenge of Guinea-Bissau. The hosts have claimed maximum points from their opening two qualifiers, while the visitors remain unbeaten heading into the clash at Abuja National Stadium.
Off the back of a 2-1 victory against Sierra Leone to get their qualification journey underway, Nigeria strolled to an impressive 10-0 victory against Sao Tome and Principe on June 13. Victor Osimhen scored four times and set up further strikes for his teammates in that match.
However, the Super Eagles have been beaten in each of their subsequent three outings, which luckily for them have all been largely inconsequential friendlies. They will now seek to return to winning ways against an opposing outfit who suffered a 2-0 defeat in the only previous edition of this fixture back in the 2022 AFCON.
Guinea-Bissau’s Unbeaten Start
Guinea-Bissau were denied the opportunity to maintain their perfect AFCON qualifying record following a 2-2 stalemate against Sierra Leone in June. With four points from their opening two matches, Djurtus sit second in Group A, two points adrift of this weekend’s opponents ahead of the contest in the Nigerian capital.
Having fared poorly on their recent travels, Friday’s visitors are faced with yet another daunting task on the road where they have won just one of their last nine matches across all competitions.
Key Players to Watch Out For
Following his two-goal haul against Sierra Leone, Jorginho is now up to five international strikes for Guinea-Bissau and continues to move up the all-time scoring charts. Victor Osimhen, who has now netted 15 times for his country, will lead the hosts’ attack alongside Terem Moffi.
Kingsley Aniagboso and Victor Sochima have both been handed their maiden call-up to the Nigerian national team, but neither is expected to displace Francis Uzoho between the sticks. Having marked his first outing for the away side with a goal, 25-year-old Jardel will be pushing for a place in the starting lineup for this one.
Expectations for the Match
Nigeria ended 2022 on a poor run of results but their first outing of 2023 provides a good chance to get themselves back on track. Currently unbeaten on home turf since 2021, Friday’s hosts will be looking to put on a dominant display in front of what is set to be an expectant home crowd. We expect the home side to see off the threat of their visitors in comfortable fashion at the end of the 90 minutes.
Credit: https://www.sportsmole.co.uk/football/nigeria/preview/preview-nigeria-vs-guinea-bissau-prediction-team-news-lineups_509624.html
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