AFCON
Super Eagles Players Bafana Plan to Cage
As the hour to the crunchy Nigeria-South African clash draw nearer, Sports Village Square has gathered that a South African publication, Times Media Digit has marked out five Super Eagles players that Stuart Baxter and his wards must pay special attention to.
The South Africans understand the desperation of Nigeria after missing out in the last two editions of the Africa Cup of Nations.
They note that the Super Eagles are without some experienced stars for Saturday’s opening 2019 Nations Cup qualifier against South Africa in Uyo‚ including captain John Obi Mikel‚ but still have plenty of talent from the top leagues in Europe.
The Times Media Digital picks out five Super Eagles players who could prove match-winners at the weekend.
1) KELECHI IHEANACHO (MANCHESTER CITY‚ ENGLAND)
“Iheanacho did not have the greatest season with English giants Manchester City as he battled with the competition up front at Eastlands‚ but he remains a key figure in the national set-up.
“He has scored six goals in nine internationals for the Super Eagles and will be their lead forward again‚ with his last goal coming in the 3-0 win over Togo at the weekend.
“The 20-year-old is lively up front and arguably the best “finisher” in the team. He has scored 21 goals in 64 games for City‚ but is expected to leave in the next transfer window‚ with West Ham United leading the race for his signature.
2) ALEX IWOBI (ARSENAL‚ ENGLAND)
“Iwobi can play on either wing and is coming off a good season for Arsenal‚ where the 21-year-old netted four goals from his wide positions.
He also netted for Nigeria in their 2-1 World Cup qualifier victory over Zambia in October last year‚ his only international goal to date.
“The versatile attacking midfielder can play as an out-and-out winger‚ or up front in a 4-3-3 with Iheanacho and Ahmed Musa.
“Iwobi was born in Lagos but played junior football for England having moved to that country at the age of four. However‚ he committed to the Super Eagles in 2015 and had been a regular when fit since.”
3) AHMED MUSA (LEICESTER CITY‚ ENGLAND)
“The most experienced of the forwards in the Nigeria squad‚ Musa is a player who has hurt Bafana in the past‚ denying them a rare win when he equalised late on in a 1-1 draw in March 2015.
“He has flourished under Rohr and scored twice in the 2-0 win over Togo at the weekend‚ showing form coming into the qualifier with Bafana.
“Musa can also play as a winger or an out-and-out forward and has blistering pace to go with a rocket shot.
“He can also be a bit wayward though and is in many respects a similar player in style to Bafana’s Tokelo Rantie.
“He signed for English champions Leicester City at the start of the last season after five seasons with CSKA Moscow in Russia‚ where he was a prolific scorer.
4) WILFRED NDIDI (LEICESTER CITY‚ ENGLAND)
“Ndidi had the unenviable task of replacing the outstanding N’Golo Kanté at English side Leicester City when he arrived in January this year from Racing Genk‚ but after a slow start flourished in his defensive midfield role to become a real fan favourite.
“He also showed his stamina by playing in an incredible 59 games for club and country‚ including both the UEFA Europa League (with Genk) and the Champions League (with Leicester).
“Although not known for his goal-scoring‚ he also netted six times to show that he can be a threat in the box.
“The 20-year-old made his Nigeria debut at the age of 18 in October 2015‚ though there have been question-marks over his age in the past when he was withdrawn from the Nigeria Under-17 side three years ago after MRI scans showed he was slightly above the threshold set out by FIFA.
5) OGENYI ONAZI (TRABZONSPOR‚ TURKEY)
“Onazi is an experienced campaigner and in the absence of Obi Mikel will be a crucial anchor in the Nigeria midfield.
“The 24-year-old had spent five seasons with Lazio in Italy’s Serie A before joining Trabzonspor ahead of last season‚ where he had a good campaign.
“An industrious midfielder‚ he has a box-to-box style and will be tasked with getting Nigeria onto the front-foot when they win possession.
“He has met South Africa on four previous occasions‚ including both qualifiers in the 2015 Nations Cup preliminaries‚ and is yet to taste defeat.
Cote d’Ivoire head coach Emerse Fae has overhauled his backroom team following the Elephants’ Africa Cup of Nations, Cote d’Ivoire 2023, success earlier this year.
Fae, who took over from Frenchman Jean-Louis Gasset during the tournament in January, has brought in three new faces as he builds towards qualifying for the 2025 TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations and 2026 World Cup.
Former Cote d’Ivoire goalkeeper Gerard Gnahouan, 45, joins as goalkeeping coach after working in this role with French Ligue 2 side Sochaux.
Gnahouan, capped 10 times by the Elephants between 2002 and 2011, takes over as goalkeeping coach and will be tasked with getting the best out of first-choice Yahia Fofana.
Moroccan Samir Anba, previously with French club Nice and Morocco’s Under-17s, takes over as fitness coach, while Jeremy Antonio arrives as video analyst after working with Fae at French side Clermont.
“This new composition of the technical staff marks the start of a new era for the Cote d’Ivoire national team, and expectations are high,” said Fae.
Fae kept faith with assistant Guy Demel while former international Alain Gouamene joins as the second assistant coach of the AFCON-winning team.
The 40-year-old led an all-local setup to a surprise African title in March after being promoted from Gasset’s number two following their near exit at the group stage.
The new backroom additions have a huge challenge ahead, with Cote d’Ivoire facing crunch matches in June as they bid to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
The Elephants top their qualifying group after beating Gambia and Seychelles in the opening two matches in Group F of the qualifiers under caretaker Gasset.
-CAF
After commanding victories in the first leg matches of the Africa Cup of Nations, Morocco 2025, qualifiers, Chad, Liberia, and Eswatini find themselves in advantageous positions as they gear up for the return fixtures scheduled for Tuesday.
As the second leg of the preliminary fixtures approach, all eyes will be on these teams as they vie for their coveted spots in the group phase of the qualifiers, with the hopes of making their mark on the continental stage.
Chad emerged victorious with a narrow 1-0 win over Mauritius, joining Liberia and Eswatini in the lead after their impressive triumphs earlier last week.
Liberia secured a 2-0 victory against Djibouti, while Eswatini displayed their dominance with a 3-0 win over Somalia.
The second leg promises to be fiercely contested, particularly for Chad, who will face a challenging encounter against Mauritius on the latter’s home turf.
Coach Kevin Nicaise’s players are keen to defend their slender lead and secure their spot in the next phase of the qualifiers but the trainer admits they have an arduous task.
“We are far from perfect, far from being a top team in the world. We are in the construction phase. There are still things to work on and improve,” coach Nicaise said after their first-leg win.
“It is not overnight that we will be a top team in the world, we are aware of that, however we are working hard with the group and the staff to achieve this goal.”
Meanwhile, Liberia will host Djibouti, aiming to build on their first-leg success and seal their progression to the next round.
Eswatini will host Somalia with confidence, seeking to maintain their winning momentum and secure passage to the next stage of the tournament.
South Sudan and Sao Tome and Principe will also face off in what is expected to be a closely contested encounter, following their goalless draw in the first leg.
With both teams eager for victory, the match promises to be a thrilling battle for supremacy.
-CAF
Liberia and Eswatini took commanding leads in their respective Africa Cup of Nations, Morocco 2025, preliminary round ties after claiming impressive away victories on Wednesday.
Liberia captain Murphy Dorley scored one of two first-half goals as the Lone Stars defeated hosts Djibouti 2-0 in the opening leg in Marrakech.
Mohammed Sangare broke the deadlock from the penalty spot on 23 minutes before Dorley coolly slotted home Sebastian Teclar’s cross 12 minutes later.
Djibouti struggled to lay a glove on their more illustrious opponents as the Lone Star side kept them at bay to take two away goals into next week’s second leg in Monrovia.
Eswatini were also celebrating after demolishing Somalia 3-0 in the Moroccoan city of El Jadida to put one foot in the group stage qualifiers.
Striker Sabelo Ndzinisa was the hero, netting twice either side of Felicio Figuareido’s 40th minute opener for the visitors.
Somalia now face an uphill battle to qualify when they travel to the Mbombela Stadium in the South African city of Nelspruit for the return on March 26th.
The opening leg victories give Liberia and Eswatini a huge advantage heading into the second legs as they target a place in the group stage on the road to next year’s finals in Morocco.
Back from the locker room, Somalia still couldn’t play its game.
Worse, Eswatini widened the gap with Ginindza who scored his double of the evening in the 56th minute. 3-0, the score remained unchanged on the scoreboard until the final whistle.
Victory for Eswatini which will still have to perform in the return leg to ensure its qualification for the qualifiers.
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