The Leon Stars desperately need a win against the men of Gernot Rohr to revive their fading 2022 Africa Cup of Nations ambitions.
Nigeria faced Sierra Leone on Friday evening to continue their race to qualify for the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations.
By beating Benin Republic and Lesotho – the Super Eagles have made a great start to the competition to sit at the top of Group L with six points.
Victory over John Keista’s men will bring him closer to the championship in Cameroon.
For the Leon Stars who sit at the base of the logs, they will have to upset the Super Eagles to put them in contention for a third look at the biennial African football showpiece.
| Game | Nigeria vs Sierra Leone |
| Date | Friday, November 13th |
| Place | Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium |
| Time | 5:00 pm (WHAT) |
TV channel, live stream and how to watch
In Nigeria, the game will be shown live on TV.
| Nigeria TV Channel | Outside (Nigeria) TV channel |
|---|---|
| Supersport and AIT | Supersport |
Squads and Team News
| Status | Nigerian detachment |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Daniel Akpayee (Kaiser Chiefs); Sebastian Osigwe (FC Lugano); Maduka Okoye (Sparta Rotterdam) |
| Defenders | Kenneth Omaruo (CD Legness); Leon Balogan (Glasgow Rangers); Chidozi Aw Vazim (FC Bovista); William Trust-A ongang (Watford FC); Olaoluva Aina (Fulham FC); Jamilu Collins (SC Paderborn 07); Oluvasemilogo Ajayi (West Bromwich Albion); Zaidu Sanusi (FC Porto); Kevin Akpoguma (TSG 1899 Hoffenheim), Shehu Abdullahi (AC Ammonia) |
| Midfielders | Oghanekaro Etebo (Galatasaray); Tyrone Abuihi (FC Twente); Joseph Iodel-Arebo (Glasgow Rangers) |
| Next | Ahmed Musa (unattached); Alex Ewobi (Everton FC); Emanuel Denis Bonaventer (Club Brugge); Paul Onuachu (junk); Samuel Chuckweis (Villarreal FC); Victor Osimhen (Napoli FC); Kelechi Ihianacho (Leicester City); Chidera Izuk (CSKA Moscow) |
Potential XI for Nigeria: Okoye, Awzim, Aina, Balogun, Trust-ek ongang, Ewobi, Arebo, Etebo, Chukwuz, Izuk, Osimhen
| Status | Sierra Leone team |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Mohammed Kamara, Unisa Conteh, Isaac Kullker |
| Defenders | Abu Samura, Yami Duniya, Ali Sese, Kevin Wright, Usman Kakay, Umar Bangura, Mustafa Dambua |
| Midfielders | John Camara, Road Stresser, Hassan Koroma, Mohammad Camara, Mohammad Turaye |
| Next | Ki Kamara, Mustafa Bundu, Aug Gustin Williams, Al Hassan Koroma, Kame Me, Qi, Prince Berry, Emanuel Samadia, Alhaji Kamara |
Potential XI for Sierra Leone: Room; Bangura, Sese, Kake, Wright; Coroma, chamber, stressor; Qi, chamber, in chamber
Match preview
The Super Eagles drew 1-1 with Tunisia in their last friendly in Austria, four days before losing to African champions Algeria.
Even at this point, the Super Eagles look very ready to face the Sierra Leoneans in Benin City for all three points to help their qualifying ambitions.
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Although the three-time African champion is an excellent choice to put all points at stake, coach Gernot Rohr hinted that his team would not keep an eye on John Caster’s men, while hoping his team would double towards early flight bookings for Cameroon. The header will win. It will also turn their attention to the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
“We are not dominating the Sierra Leoneans in any way in these four days that we play with two feet on this ball, but we have our focus and purpose for the match,” Rohr told NFF Media.
“We want to win both games to get tickets and a little more relief for the final games.
“You know, next year, we have a World Cup qualifier that we should focus on. Now it is better to get the job of Africa Cup Nations behind us. ”
There is no doubt that the Leon Stars are in dire need of a win against the Nigerians, however, they are on a large scale considering the positive outcome of winning any game away from home since 1999.
They will hope to take advantage of the fact that these fixtures will be played without fans due to the Covid-19 epidemic. Their last tour against the Super Eagles ended on February 2, 2011 with a 2-1 defeat at the Taslim Balogun Stadium.