Nigeria’s resilience on the football field will once again be put to the test as the home-based senior men’s national team, Super Eagles B, faces Sudan’s Falcons of Jediane in a must-win Group D encounter at the 8th Africa Nations Championship in Zanzibar today.
Titleholders Senegal managed to score with their only shot on target, just a quarter of an hour before the final whistle in last week’s match between the two teams, which has now set up a win-or-go-home scenario for the Super Eagles B. The match will take place at the same Amaan Stadium on the island of Zanzibar, a venue with a 15,000-capacity where the 2018 runners-up suffered a defeat against their West African rivals Senegal.
Head Coach Eric Chelle acknowledged after the previous setback that his team must enter this match with unwavering determination to outmanoeuvre the Falcons and then secure a victory over Congo’s Devils the following week, in order to have any realistic chance of advancing to the knockout stages of the rather unconventional 19-nation finals.
“I just want to win this game against Sudan; this is my main objective. We are under pressure, but we are ambitious and must secure a victory tomorrow. This match is the most important for us because a win could lead to positive outcomes for the team,” Chelle stated at Monday’s pre-match press conference.
Team captain Nduka Harrison Junior added, “We want to take each game as it comes, and our focus now is on Sudan. The previous match was a setback but not a disaster. We have a point to prove, and we are ready to rectify our mistakes.”
The Falcons, who also experienced disappointment with a late equaliser that saw them settle for a single point instead of three in their clash with Congo, are nonetheless ready to fight on the Indian Ocean island.
“Nigeria is one of the biggest nations in African football, and we respect them, but we will not fear them. I don’t believe in any rivalries; this is just a game, and the best team will win. I have watched only one match of the Nigerian team, so I cannot assess them based on that alone. I don’t see any individual player as a threat, but rather the team as a whole,” remarked Kwesi Appiah, head coach of Sudan. The match kicks off at 6pm.
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