Super Eagles Depart Uyo For Crucial Guinea-Bissau AFCON Qualifier

Nigeria’s Super Eagles have departed Uyo for Bissau ahead of their crucial 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying clash with Guinea-Bissau on Tuesday.

The three-time African champions left Uyo on Sunday afternoon after stepping up preparations for the Matchday 2 encounter, with a closed-door training session at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium earlier in the day.

The session, which began at 10am, was the team’s final workout in Nigeria before the squad headed to the airport for a scheduled 3pm departure on a chartered flight. 

Coach Éric Chelle’s side go into the encounter with three points after a hard-fought 2-1 comeback victory over Madagascar in their opening Group L fixture in Uyo.

Nigeria fell behind to Ehsan Kari’s 16th-minute strike but fought back through debutant George Ilenikhena in first-half stoppage time before fellow debutant Moses Usor completed the turnaround in the 65th minute. 

Guinea-Bissau also secured three points in their opening match, defeating Tanzania 2-0 away from home. The result puts the Wild Dogs at the top of Group L on goal difference, ahead of Nigeria. 

The Group L meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, 29 September, with kick-off at 5pm Nigerian time at the Estádio 24 de Setembro in Bissau.

Chelle will have another training session in Guinea-Bissau to fine-tune his plans for the encounter, with the coach already warning that the Wild Dogs will present a different challenge from Madagascar. 

“I’m happy because they found the solution. It was not easy. So now we have to forget this game, analyse what we did, and then we have a second game in Guinea-Bissau,” Chelle said after the Madagascar victory. 

Tuesday’s fixture carries added significance because Tanzania are already guaranteed a place at the 2027 AFCON finals as co-hosts. Consequently, only the highest-ranked team among Nigeria, Guinea-Bissau and Madagascar will qualify from Group L. 

With both Nigeria and Guinea-Bissau beginning their campaigns with victories, the encounter offers an early opportunity for either side to strengthen its position in the race for the group’s sole qualifying ticket.