Nigeria’s priority is ending a decade-long wait to win the Africa Cup of Nations this season, as they get their campaign underway against Equatorial Guinea.
The Super Eagles, fresh off missing out on a place at the World Cup, have finished third (eight times) and second (four times) more often than they have won AFCON (three times) – a tournament which they enter as one of the continent’s superpowers.
Victor Osimhen will lead their efforts in Ivory Coast as part of a star-studded squad packed with players plying their trade in Europe’s biggest leagues, The Standard reports.
However, Jose Peseiro has overseen a poor run of form of late including draws with Lesotho and Zimbabwe in World Cup qualifying and a friendly defeat to Guinea to prepare for AFCON.
Equatorial Guinea, meanwhile, have managed to qualify out of their group on all three previous trips to AFCON.
Nigeria vs Equatorial Guinea is scheduled for a 2 pm GMT kick-off on Sunday, January 14, at Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan.
Bayer Leverkusen striker Victor Boniface has been ruled out of the tournament due to injury, however, Nigeria will have Osimhen, captain Ahmed Musa, and Samuel Chukwueze among their plethora of options in attack.
Osimhen and Alex Iwobi were named on the bench in the friendly defeat to Guinea, but both should start in Abidjan while Brentford midfielder Frank Onyeka and Fulham’s Calvin Bassey should also be key players.
Leicester midfielder Wilfred Ndidi is absent through injury whereas club teammate Kelechi Iheanacho has remained with the squad despite an issue of his own.
Equatorial Guinea will be led by captain and striker Emilio Nsue, formerly of Middlesbrough and Birmingham. At the same time, young Huddersfield defender Charles Ondo is their sole British-based call-up to AFCON.
The Super Eagles of Nigeria with the prediction to win, 3-0, may not always make things easy for themselves but can make a statement in a group that features hosts Ivory Coast.
Notably, the head-to-head (h2h) history and results reveal that the Super Eagles have a 100 percent record in this fixture:
Nigeria wins: 3
Equatorial Guinea wins: 0
Draws: 0
While the Nigeria vs Equatorial Guinea match odds read:
Nigeria: 2/5
Equatorial Guinea: 15/2
Draw: 16/5
