By 6pm this evening, you will be opportune to see
the best of African football, as Super Eagles of Nigeria take on Bafana-Bafana
of South Africa in African Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier final match at the
‘Nest of Champions’ – the new Akwa Ibom International stadium.
Super Eagles plan goal party for Nigerians, as they
unleash three ruthless strike force, Ikechukwu Uche, Emmanuel Emernike, and CAF
Player of the year nominee, Ahmed Musa, on Bafana-Bafana. With a Kind of 4-3-3
formation, that plays long balls to high speed, high fighting, and high skilled
combined strike force, it may be difficult for South Africans to contain the
Nigerian team for too long in the game.
With the way things are going in the Super Eagles
camp now, I can predict that we may likely see scoreline ranging from 3 goals
upwards against South Africa. It’s not about extending Nigeria’s 10 years
unbeaten run over South Africa, but which team eventually qualify for
Equatorial Guinea 2015.
Nigeria presently sit second place on Group A table
– level on 7 points with Congo. This final qualifiers fixture will determine
who qualifies with South Africa in the Group and eventually make it to
Equatorial Guinea in January 2015.
Congo will be playing away to Sudan, who is at the bottom of Group A table. If Congo beat Sudan in Khartoum and the central African team may likely qualify if Nigeria slips again.
Again, Super Eagles
have their destiny in their hands and that’s why they are planning a harvest of
goals this evening. Indeed, it will be an epic victory if Nigeria win their
first competitive match in the new Akwa Ibom International stadium. Then, it
could encourage Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to host more international
matches in the Nest of Champions
Congo will be playing away to Sudan, who is at the bottom of Group A table. If Congo beat Sudan in Khartoum and the central African team may likely qualify if Nigeria slips again.
But Nigeria has a head-to-head advantage; after it
lost 2 – 3 at home, but went on to beat Congo away 0 – 2 in Pointe Noire. All
Nigeria need is to out score South Africa and they are sure of the AFCON
ticket.
But Bafana-Bafana team isn’t going to be that
merciful. The team held Super Eagles on their toes for 90 minutes in the first
leg match in South Africa last month. Bafana-Bafana has such capability to
spoil the party for Nigerians and extra care must be taken by Super Eagles’
players, especially in the defense. They mustn’t loose concentration at any
point in the game.
Bafana-Bafana have been impressive under the
tutelage of new coach, Ephraim ‘Shake’ Mashaba and haven’t lost a game yet in
the qualifiers. South Africa has already qualified with 11 points and can
easily spare this game if not for national pride.
