AFCON
SUPER EAGLES HOST THE LAST 2019 AFCON GROUP A TEAM AS ZIMBABWE’S WARRIORS STORM NIGERIA
When Zimbabwe Warriors play against Super Eagles on Saturday in Asaba, the team would have played against the entire four Group A teams of Egypt 2019.
Last year in Port Harcourt, Nigeria played DR Congo as a valedictory encounter just before the Super Eagles departed for Russia 2018.
The central African country falls within Group A of the 2019 first round games along with Egypt, which the Super Eagles met last March in Asaba.
Last year November, the Super Eagles played 0-0 with another Afcon 2019 Group A team, Uganda in Asaba.
Zimbabwe thus completed the encounters as a 26 –man delegation of the team known as Warriors, will land in Nigeria on Thursday night aboard a South African Airways flight, ahead of Saturday’s pre-AFCON sendoff international friendly with the Super Eagles.
Thenff.com learnt the Zimbabwe delegation will spend Thursday night in Lagos, and fly to Asaba on Friday morning.
On Friday evening, the Warriors will hold their official training session at the Stephen Keshi Stadium, venue of Saturday’s encounter that begins at 6pm.
Zimbabwe will campaign in Group A of the 32nd Africa Cup of Nations finals taking place in Egypt 21st June – 19th July, alongside host nation Egypt, Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.
Nigeria is the seeded team in Group B that also has Burundi, Guinea and Madagascar.
The Warriors will actually kick off the tournament against hosts Egypt at the Cairo Stadium on the night of 21st June.
Meanwhile, three –time champions Nigeria have fully settled down in Asaba for the match, which is the first of their two remaining games leading up to the AFCON. Their last match is against Africa’s number one –ranked team, Senegal in Ismailia on Sunday, 16th June.
Of the 25 players invited by Technical Adviser Gernot Rohr for the final phase of the preparations, only defender William Ekong is expected to arrive on Thursday.
Defender Abdullahi Shehu and forwards Ahmed Musa and Alex Iwobi arrived the team’s Golden Tulip Hotel just before lunch on Wednesday, while forward Odion Ighalo, top scorer in the entire qualifying campaign, was expected on Wednesday night.
After Saturday’s game, the Nigeria contingent will fly to Egypt on Sunday aboard a chartered aircraft, for another week of intensive strategy and tactics perfection.
The NFF must submit the final list of 23 players to the Confederation of African Football by Tuesday, 11thJune.
According to Libya’s news outlets, there are palpable fears in the Libya national team which faces successive crises and trying to avoid early elimination from the Africa Cup of Nations qualifying series.
The team which faces the Super Eagles this week has been plagued with players’ absences occasioned by injuries and boycotts.
The coach recently appointed has revealed the names of players refusing to represent the national team.
In a press conference held on Saturday, Coach Nasser Al-Hadhiri remarked that the absence of several players were due to real injuries.
In that class are Ahmed Al-Tarbi, a defender of Ahli Tripoli; Mohammed Al-Tabbal of Al-Nasr club and Ali Youssef who also suffered the injury while playing with Tunisia’s Club Africaine.
If the Libyan national team sticks to plans, the players are expected to have arrived in Nigeria ahead of their Thursday’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifying duel in Uyo.
With most players drawn from the domestic league, the national team had daily training sessions in Tripoli under coach Nasser Al-Hadhiri and his assistants Akram Al-Hammami and Abu Bakr Al-Hark.
However, according to media sources in Libya, the team faces injury worries even though the absence of Victor Osimhen in the Nigerian squad is being celebrated.
Even though it did not mention the injured Libyan players, Libya Al-Ahrar Channel reports that replacements were found in Al-Tahadi FC defender, Mohammed Khalil and Al-Nasr midfielder, Abdullah Abdul Rahim as well as Al-Akhdar winger, Faraj Ghaidhan. They take the places of the absent regular players.
Franck Mawuena who recently renewed his contract with Remo Stars has received a call-up to the Togolese squad for this week’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match. He had previously featured in the Belgian League.
He was part of the Remo Stars squad that finished second in the Nigeria Premier league last season. He scored six goals.
Togo will be away to Algeria on Thursday before hosting the reversed fixture on 14 October.
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