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It is crunch time for Nigeria’s Super Eagles as they begin the long road to Cote d’Ivoire against Sierra Leone.
This Thursday, Nigeria’s Super Eagles will return to action to kick start the journey to Cote d’Ivoire next year for the Africa Cup of Nations when they host Sierra Leone in the qualifiers.
Super Eagles are looking to make amends after some uninspiring performances in recent months and have been hard in training at the Moshood Abiola national stadium in Abuja.
Nigeria is looking for a return to Africa’s biggest footballing fiesta after the disappointment in Cameroon during the 2021 edition which saw the country exit at the quarter-final stage..
However, despite naming a new manager in Jose Peseiro, things have appeared to remain the same for the Eagles.
Back-to-back defeats in two international friendly matches against Mexico and Ecuador last week have left the team looking to make amends starting with the game against the Leone Stars.
For the visitors, Sierra Leone, while they haven’t played any football since March, they are in Nigeria looking to compound Super Eagles’ woes. The Leone Stars defeated Congo in a friendly in their last game.
Teams News
Nigeria revealed a new 27-man squad for this encounter with some notable names who missed the games against Mexico and Ecuador in the US back in the team.
The Likes of Victor Osimhen, Leon Balogun, Kenneth Omeruo, Zaidu Sanusi and skipper Ahmed Musa have all rejoined the team.
However, the team is still without the valuable defensive midfielder, Wilfried Ndidi, who is still out injured.
For Sierra Leone, at the point of this report, the Leone Stars, who are already in the country, have an injury-free squad and ready to go.
Form Guide
The Super Eagles will go into this encounter in very bad form having failed to win any of their last five matches in all competitions. Nigeria has lost three and drawn two of those games - the worst run in over three decades.
Sierra Leone isn’t far off from Nigeria in terms of their form as well as the Leone Stars have lost one, drawn two and won one of their last four.
Both teams will step onto the Moshood Abiola Stadium pitch in search of their first win since January.
Kick off time
The game will kick off at exactly 5 pm Nigerian time.
Nigeria Predicted XI: Francis Uzoho; Ola Aina, Leon Balogun, William Troost-Ekong, Calvin Bassey; Sani Faisal, Joe Aribo, Alex Iwobi, Moses Simon; Cyriel Dessers, Victor Osimhen
Sierra Leone Predicted XI (4-3-3): Mohamed Nbalie Kamara; Osman Kakay, Alie Sesay, Steven Caulker, Kevin Wright; Kamil Conteh, Kallum Cesay, Kwame Quee; Mohamed Buya Turay, Musa Kamara, Sullay Kaikai
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