Super Eagles head coach, Jose Peseiro said the matchday2 of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying clash against ‘The Falcons and True Parrots’ of São Tomé and Príncipe at the Grand Stade Agadir in southern Morocco will bring the best out of his team as they seek to go top of the Group A table.
Having bagged all three points in their 2-1 defeat of Sierra Leone at the MKO Abiola Stadium, Abuja on Thursday, Peseiro insists his team intend to remain top of their group table.
“We want to be the team at the top of the table, so we must fight hard against the opponents. Every match, we must commit ourselves fully to winning it. As I said earlier in the week, Nigeria has a huge pedigree and they also have both quality and quantity of players. It is important that we select the best all the time to win the big games,” Peseiro said on arrival at the Aeroport Agadir Almarissa for the all-important encounter.
Meanwhile, the Super Eagles defense marshal, William Ekong and midfielder Innocent Bonke have been ruled out of the clash after as the duo have returned to their respective bases in England and France to attend to injuries copped during the international break.
Bonke was injured in the friendly game against Mexico in Dallas on 28th May, while Ekong suffered a groin strain in the 2-1 defeat of Sierra Leone in Abuja on Thursday.
The Confederation of African Football has appointed Liberian official Hassen Zinnah Corneh as referee for the encounter, with his compatriots Joel Wonka Doe, Ephraim Grant Whengar and Moses Forkpah as assistant referee 1, assistant referee 2 and fourth official respectively.
Alim Konate Aboubakar from Cameroon will be match commissioner. The match starts at 1pm Morocco time.
Nigeria’s delegation for the encounter landed in the southern Moroccan city of Agadir on Sunday morning.
