The Leone Stars are in dire need of a win against Gernot Rohr’s men in a bid to revive their fading 2022 Africa Cup of Nations ambitions
Nigeria face Sierra Leone on Friday evening in continuation of their race towards qualifying for the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations.
The Super Eagles have made a brilliant start to the competition – defeating Benin Republic and Lesotho – to sit at the summit of Group L with six points.
Victory over John Keista’s men will push them nearer to the championship billed to hold in Cameroon.
For the Leone Stars who sit at the base of the log, they must upset the Super Eagles to put them in contention for a third appearance at the biennial African football showpiece.
| Game | Nigeria vs Sierra Leone |
| Date | Friday, November 13 |
| Venue | Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium |
| Time | 17:00 (WAT) |
TV Channel, Live Stream & How To Watch
In Nigeria, the game will be shown live on TV.
| Nigeria TV channel | Outside (Nigeria) TV channel |
|---|---|
| SuperSport and AIT | SuperSport |
Squads & Team News
| Position | Nigeria squad |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Daniel Akpeyi (Kaizer Chiefs); Sebastian Osigwe (FC Lugano); Maduka Okoye (Sparta Rotterdam) |
| Defenders | Kenneth Omeruo (CD Leganes); Leon Balogun (Glasgow Rangers); Chidozie Awaziem (FC Boavista); William Troost-Ekong (Watford FC); Olaoluwa Aina (Fulham FC); Jamilu Collins (SC Paderborn 07); Oluwasemilogo Ajayi (West Bromwich Albion); Zaidu Sanusi (FC Porto); Kevin Akpoguma (TSG 1899 Hoffenheim), Shehu Abdullahi (AC Omonia) |
| Midfielders | Oghenekaro Etebo (Galatasaray); Tyronne Ebuehi (FC Twente); Joseph Ayodele-Aribo (Glasgow Rangers) |
| Forwards | Ahmed Musa (Unattached); Alex Iwobi (Everton FC); Emmanuel Dennis Bonaventure (Club Brugge); Paul Onuachu (Genk); Samuel Chukwueze (Villarreal FC); Victor Osimhen (Napoli FC); Kelechi Iheanacho (Leicester City); Chidera Ejuke (CSKA Moscow) |
Probable XI for Nigeria: Okoye, Awaziem, Aina, Balogun, Troost-Ekong, Iwobi, Aribo, Etebo, Chukwueze, Ejuke, Osimhen
| Position | Sierra Leone squad |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Mohamed Kamara, Unisa Conteh, Isaac Caulker |
| Defenders | Abu Samura, Yeami Dunia, Ali Sesay, Kevin Wright, Osman Kakay, Umar Bangura, Mustapha Dumbuya |
| Midfielders | John Kamara, Rodney Strasser, Hassan Koroma, Mohamed Kamara, Mohamed Turay |
| Forwards | Kei Kamara, Mustapha Bundu, Augstine Williams, Al Hassan Koroma, Quame, Quee, Prince Barrie, Emmanuel Samadia, Alhaji Kamara |
Probable XI for Sierra Leone: Kamara; Bangura, Sesay, Kakay, Wright; Koroma, Kamara, Strasser; Quee, Kamara, Kei Kamara
Match Preview
The Super Eagles ground out a 1-1 draw against Tunisia in their last friendly match played in Austria after losing four days earlier to reigning African champions Algeria.
Even at this, the Super Eagles look very much prepared to face the Sierra Leoneans who are in Benin City for all three points to help their qualification ambitions.
Although the three-time African champions are outstanding favourites to secure all points at stake, coach Gernot Rohr hinted that his men will not look down on John Keister’s men, while hoping his team win the double-header towards booking an early flight to Cameroon. That will also see them shift their attention to the 2022 Fifa World Cup qualifiers.
“We do not in any way underrate the Sierra Leoneans that we play over two legs within these four days, but we have our focus and objective for the matches,” Rohr told NFF media.
“We want to win both games so we can have the ticket and be able to be little more relaxed for the final games.
“You know that next year, we also have the World Cup qualifiers to focus on. It is better to get the Africa Cup of Nations job behind us now.”
No doubt the Leone Stars are in dire need of a win against the Nigerians, yet, they are massive underdogs to pick a positive result having in mind that they are yet to win any game away from home since 1999.
They would be hoping to take advantage of the fact that this fixture would be played without fans due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Their last outing against the Super Eagles ended in a 2-1 defeat at the Teslim Balogun Stadium on February 2, 2011.
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