Nigeria In Make or Mar World Cup Qualifier Against Cape Verde
BY VICTOR OSOWOCHI – The three-time African kings, Nigeria are hoping to qualify for the global football showpiece, 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar for the seventh time in their history.
To achieve this goal, the Super Eagles must first negotiate their way past the Blue Sharks of Cape Verde this afternoon in Lagos. At least a draw is what they need to move on and keep alive their hopes of being in Qatar come next year.
But the Blue Sharks, who have won their last three games in the World Cup qualifying series, can end that dream prematurely by beating the Eagles before their vocal home crowd today inside the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos.
The Bubista men’s last defeat was against Nigeria in a match played on September 7, 2021. Despite taking the lead, the Cape Verdeans were silenced 2-1 inside Estadio Municipal Aderito Sena in Senegal through strikes from Victor Osimhen, with an own goal by Kenny Rocha Santos.
For the Super Eagles, they have won four out of their last five World Cup qualification matches. Their only defeat was against the Central African Republic (CAR) at the Teslim Balogun Stadium.
Before then, Nigeria’s only defeat in any competitive match dated back to July 14, 2019, where they crashed 1-2 to Algeria in the Africa Cup of Nations’ semi-finals match at the Cairo International Stadium in Egypt.
Having this in mind, Gernot Rohr’s men are expected to fire on all cylinders when taking on Bubista’s team, whose defensive frailties have been exposed having conceded seven goals in their last six matches in all competitions.
The highest goals conceded in a match was two against Senegal (June 8, 2021) and Nigeria (September 7, 2021)
Both Countries’ FIFA World Ranking
Going by October’s FIFA ranking, Gernot Rohr’s Super Eagles should be having no problems picking up all three points against Cape Verde in Lagos.
Currently, Nigeria are placed fifth in Africa and 36th in the world, while Cape Verde are a distant 14th on the continent and 76th on the global stage.
With eyes on Qatar 2022, the Super Eagles have only missed one edition of the FIFA World Cup, (Germany 2006), since making their debut in the United States of America in 1994.
At the 2018 edition in Russia, Nigeria crashed out of the group stage after failing against Argentina, and Croatia despite a 2-0 victory over Iceland. – With Goal.com reports
