The Super Eagles of Nigeria will face Guinea-Bissau in their final Group A match at the ongoing AFCON tournament on Monday.
Following a surprise 1-0 win over hosts Ivory Coast that boosted Nigeria’s title credentials, the next match is against an opponent that is not new to surprising Nigeria.
Both Nigeria and Guinea-Bissau have met thrice with the African Wild Dogs winning once, at the backyard of the Super Eagles in Abuja.
Ahead of their latest fixture and given the backdrop of Nigeria’s surprise win, we look at two things Jose Peseiro and his technical crew must do to silence this opponent.
Attack and convert chances
Nigeria lined up with a 5-4-1 formation against Ivory Coast and a fourth-minute chance aside, failed to break down the hosts until Victor Osimhen fashioned out the penalty captain Troost-Ekong converted for the win. The Super Eagles could have added at least one more goal in the final minutes but for poor decision-making and profligacy in front of goal. The latter remains the team’s bane as Osimhen could have bagged a hattrick against Equatorial Guinea in the first match. Hence, it is expected that the coaches have worked on the team’s finishing coming into this fixture, and with the knockout stage incoming.
Rotate the team, Start Iheanacho
Jose Peseiro maximized his squad against the Ivorians, dropping Moses Simon and the injured Alhassan Yusuf for defender Calvin Bassey and Samuel Chukwueze who can dribble from deep. This worked perfectly and it also meant more players gained pitch time.
Peseiro further hinted in his press conference that all players are good enough to start and he must stay true to his words in this final group match against a nation that has not registered a point in the tournament so far. The Portuguese coach must use the opportunity to start Kelechi Iheanacho, the experienced attacker who recovered from injury to join the team.
This would afford the Leicester City man match fitness going int the knockout rounds where he can be an impact player, a role he played to perfection during his breakthrough years at Manchester City. Experienced defender Kenneth Omeruo should also be drafted in at the back, and he can also be joined by attack-minded Bright Osayi-Samuel who has made two substitute appearances in Ivory Coast.
