2019 AFCON: Nigeria Seek Round 16 Spot Against Guinea

• Burundi, Madagascar in battle of the minnows 

BY COBHAM NSA – The good news that outstanding bonus settlement has been sorted out for the Super Eagles sets the stage today (Wednesday) at the Port city of Alexandria as Syli Stars Nationale of Guinea confront Nigeria in a Group B match day two fixture of the ongoing African Nations Cup (AFCON) tournament in Egypt.

The Skipper Mikel Obi-led Eagles, who have their sight on the last 16 knockout round stage, got a boost for the encounter with President Muhammadu Buhari approving part of the funds to prosecute their soccer campaigns in the North African country.

The Nigerian Football Federation Communications Department was upbeat on Tuesday with the news after the Eagles’ players staged a mild protest over their outstanding bonuses and allowances at the Helnan Palestine Hotel in Egypt.

As usual, the ugly development had Eagles’ players shunning their pre-match conference and also arriving about 20 minutes late for training ahead of today’s tie against their West African neighbours.

The Super Eagles are currently leading the pack in Group B with three points with Guinea and Madagascar placed joint second with a point each from their 2-2 draw. 

Victory in today’s match, which kicks off at 3.30pm, will see Nigeria qualifying for the next stage of the tournament while the Guineans can still as second placed team or third best losers after their final group game with Burundi.

The Syli Stars, who booked their place in Egypt with an unbeaten record of three wins and three draws, are tipped as Group B favourites alongside Nigeria. That run of results during the qualifiers ensured they dusted Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire to emerge as leaders in their group.

Odion Ighalo, whose lone strike made the difference for Nigeria in their opening encounter against Burundi last Saturday, will hopefully be in the starting line up.

The consensus among highly expectant fans and football pundits is for the China-based Shanghai Shenhua forward, who finished the qualifying series as top scorer with seven goals, to be in his best element, alongside Vice Captain, Ahmed Musa.

Musa, used as a second half substitute in the Burundi match due to fitness issues, is reportedly rearing to inspire the three-time African champions to victory in the starting eleven for Coach Gernot Rohr.

Coach Rohr and his men will be looking forward to putting behind them the unpaid bonuses drama to navigate their way past the Guineans who could only managed a disappointing 2-2 draw against minnows Madagascar in the opening game.

Thankfully, the Super Eagles got another boost with doctors giving Samuel Kalu a clean bill of health following the dehydration crisis that saw him being rushed from the training ground to the hospital for immediate medical attention. The only snag is Abdullahi Shehu, who is still nursing a hamstring injury sustained against the Swallows of Burundi, but Coach Rohr insists there is no cause for alarm as the Eagles have capable replacement for all positions in the team.

For the Coach Paul Put-tutored Syli Stars, all their talks are centered on making amends for the dropped points against Madagascar.

Reports filtering out from their camp indicate that the mission is to give Nigeria a bloody nose in the encounter to keep alive their hopes of progressing into the last 16 stage of the competition.

Having been reminded of their mission in Egypt, after sharing the spoils with the debuting Island nation last Saturday, the Guinean Football Federation (GFF) President, Antonio Souare has urged the Syli Nationale to focus on reaching the AFCON final come Friday, July 22.

Though one of their key players, Naby Keita was in action for only 28 minutes during the stalemate against the Burundians, indications are that he is now fully fit to lead Coach Put’s charge against Nigeria.

The Guineans, making their 12th AFCON appearance in Egypt, are yet to win the coveted continental trophy, having made their debut appearance in 1970.

However, their hopes of ending the trophy drought on the continent can only be achievable with their progression from Group B into the round of 16.

The other Group B game will feature two of the AFCON debutants, Burundi and Madagascar. Both countries were impressive in their opening games and demonstrated that they deserved to feature in the biennial continental soccer carnival.

While Madagascar claimed a deserved point from their game against Guinea, the Burundians were just unlucky falling short in their 0-1 loss to Nigeria.

However, today’s game is wide open with either side capable of winning. Though the lowest ranked team in the tournament, that will not stop Burundi from pushing for a positive outing against Madagascar.

With both countries replicating their opening match displays, this encounter smells of a score draw ending. – With agency reports