Line Up Nigeria Vs Equatorial Guinea Today 14 January 2024
Nigeria have been dealing with injury woes ahead of their bid to end a decade-long wait for Africa Cup of Nations glory.
The Super Eagles may be one of the continent’s superpowers but have consistently underperformed in the AFCON over recent years.
Nigeria manager Jose Peseiro heads into the tournament under some pressure too, having drawn with Lesotho and Zimbabwe in World Cup qualifying before losing to Guinea in a friendly.
They were also dealt a significant blow on the eve of the tournament, losing Bayer Leverkusen’s in-demand forward Victor Boniface to injury. Wilfred Ndidi and Taiwo Awoniyi are two further absent players, along with Sadiq Umar.
Still, Nigeria are loaded with some huge attacking talent in the form of Napoli star Victor Osimhen, captain Ahmed Musa and AC Milan's Samuel Chukwueze.
Di Super Eagles of Nigeria go face Equatorial Guinea for dia opening match for di Caf Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) Group A match on Sunday, for di Alassane Ouattara Stadium for Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
Dis go be di first time Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea go face each oda for Caf Africa Cup of Nations. Dem bin face each oda for di qualifiers of di 2010 Ffia World Cup, and Nigeria bin win both matches (1:0; 2:0).
Nigeria go dey make dia 20th appearance for di competition, wey dem win on three times (1980, 1994 and 2013).
Also, Super Eagles don reach semi-finals of Afcon 14 times of dia last 17 participations.
Di Nigeria team bin lose to Cameroon (3-1) during dia last Afcon tournament for Côte d’Ivoire in 1984.
Predicted Line up Nigeria XI:
- Nwabili;
- Aina,
- Troost-Ekong,
- Semi Ajayi
- , Zaidu;
- Onyeka,
- Yusuf,
- Iwobi,
- Lookman,
- Simon,
- Osimhen
Injured: Boniface, Ndidi, Awoniyi, Umar
Doubts: Iheanacho, Onuachu
Time and date: 2pm GMT on Sunday January 14, 2024
Venue: Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan
TV channel and live stream: Sky Sports
ALSO READ: CAF Africa Cup of Nationsin 2024: How to watch Nigeria live at AFCON – full schedule