The Super Eagles of Nigeria will look to seal qualification to the round of 16 when the face Guinea-Bissau on Monday evening. Desh Parthab previews.
Captain fantastic William Troost-Ekong stepped up and dispatched Nigeria’s penalty in emphatic fashion against Ivory Coast to keep his side’s AFCON campaign alive. This after their shock first-round draw against Equatorial Guinea. They can now seal the deal with a victory over winless Guinea Bissau.
To Win Match
Guinea-Bissau 10/1 | Draw 32/10 | Nigeria 3/10
With two defeats from their opening two games, Guinea-Bissau are firmly rooted to the foot of Group A. With that being said, even the most ardent of supporters would have been wary of progression from the “Group of Death” which contained host nation Ivory Coast and African heavyweights Nigeria.
There are some positives to extract from those performances, however. They do have the consolation of ending their goalless run which had spanned almost 14 hours of AFCON football since they scored in a 2-1 defeat by Cameroon in 2017 – an unwanted tournament record!
It was Ze Turbo who scored the only goal scored by a player from Guinea-Bissau, during this campaign. The 27-year-old opened his account deep in stoppage time in their fixture against Equatorial Guinea, after Nzalang Nacional (National Thunder) defender Esteban Fernandez gifted his opponents their equaliser.
Baciro Cande’s players were dismantled 4-2 in that one, which followed an opening-day defeat to Ivory Coast. You have to feel that the writing was on the wall, after all, a 6-2 thrashing by Mali in their pre-tournament friendly, was anything but friendly…
A crucial victory against Ivory Coast calmed the Nigerian camp, after their unflattering draw against Equatorial Guinea on opening day. It was that man, Victor Osimhen, who proved the difference (as is the case in many of Napoli’s fixtures) once again. The 25-year-old drew a foul from Diomande, following a VAR check, which was dispatched by Troost-Ekong.
In that one, head coach Jose Peseiro, switched to five at the back during their tie with The Elephants. The move proved to be a stroke of brilliance as they restricted the host nation to just three shots on target throughout the 90. I am certain we will see this tactic deployed at the latter stages of the tournament – should Nigeria come up against an attack-heavy nation.
With four points on the board, Nigeria are on the brink of qualification, but with just two goals scored across their two tournament appearances, something’s got to give.
Verdict: Nigeria 3/10
Guinea-Bissau have the odds stacked against them in this one. They are seeking their first-ever AFCON win in their 12th match, across four appearances at the spectacle. I am expecting one-way traffic in this one – Nigeria to claim maximum points and win Group A.
