AFCON
FORMER SQUIRRELS SKIPPER, JIMMY ADJOVI BOKO DISMISSES SUPER EAGLES’ CHALLENGE
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
As the clock ticks down to the 6pm kick-off of the Africa Cup of Nations’ qualifying duel of Benin Republic and Nigeria on Saturday, former skipper of the Benin side, Jimmy Adjovi Boko has tipped the hosts to upstage Nigeria.
Should that happen, it will be the first time Benin will beat Nigeria’s national football team in 62 years. That will also extend the no-win streak of the Super Eagles since 17 November 2019.
Sports Village Square gathered from a Benin Republic publication, La Nouvelle Tribune that Squirrels’ former skipper told a local radio station, Frisson Radio that the outcome of the match would favour the hosts.
“I think we can trust Michel Dussuyer who has demonstrated his last years all his skills whether in the choice of players, whether in the management of the team to bring them to the highest level”, said former player.
He admitted that Benin would be playing against one of the continent’s great sides but that Benin, “it is true that Benin has shown for some time its capacity to face the big teams and to make results against these big teams.
“Am pretty confident we are winning.” Making reference to match day 1 in Uyo were the Super Eagles needed a penalty kick goal to fight back from a goal down to eventually win 2-1, the former Benin ex-player remarked:
“If we could have a positive match against Nigeria at home, we would have taken a big step towards qualifying. I don’t even think of a defeat, it is impossible.”
The Libyan Football Federation (LFF) has sacked its Serbian coach, Milutin Sredojević who is popularly known as Micho.
This is coming ahead of Libya’s back-to-back Africa Cup of Nations clashes with Nigeria next month.
Paradoxically, Sports Village Square gathered that the coach’s contract was only recently renewed for six months before the axe fell on the Serbian.
His sack was precipitated by the results obtained in their teo matches of the AFCON qualifiers.
Libya drew 1-1 with Rwanda at home and lost 2-1 away to Benin Republic despite beig a goal up at half time.
The Libyan side, Mediterranean Knights are due to play against the Nigeria Super Eagles in Uyo on 6 October while the return leg holds on 14 October at the 11 July Stadium in Tripoli.
According to information Sports Village Square gathered from Tripoli, the Mediterranean Knights’ coach, Micho led the Libyan national team to win nine matches since taking over in October of last year, he failed to build a strong team due to his poor choices.
He also took a risk with the footballers chosen in the AFCON qualifiers, and the result was shocking to the Libyan sports audience.
According to sources close to the Libyan Football Federation, there is a strong tendency to sign a national coach to lead the Libyan team during the remaining qualifiers for the African Cup of Nations.
CAF President Patrice Motsepe has lashed out at Ghana and some other African countries whose home grounds were recently banned from hosting CAF matches owing to inadequate facilities. He made the remarks in Nairobi, Kenya during a press conference,
After the MatchDay 2 of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, CAF ruled Ghana’s Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi as being inadequate to host international matches. Being the only approved ground in the country, Ghana will now look towards either Cote d’Ivoire or Togo for their remaining home matches of the Afcon qualifiers.
Other African countries without approved home grounds are: Djibouti, Chad, Niger, Eritrea, Gabon, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Madagascar, São Tomé and Burundi.
Motsepe voiced his frustration over the recurring issue of nations being unable to host home games.
“Nothing frustrates me more than a national team or club side having to play home matches outside,” he stated.
He stressed the significance of playing in front of home fans, adding, “You can’t grow football if the national teams or club sides aren’t playing in front of their home fans.”
Motsepe reiterated CAF’s commitment to working with countries to ensure they have at least one suitable stadium to host international fixtures.
“Our conversations in every country are to make sure there is at least one stadium capable of hosting a CAF category C game,” he emphasized.
The on-going CAF AFCON Cote d’Ivoire 2023 Coaches Symposium in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire has brought together, the last three coaches that handled the Nigeria national football team.
Gernot Rohr, Jose Peseiro and Austin Eguavoen are part of the the elite coaches currently gathered in Abidjan.
Gernot Rohr whose tenure of 5 years and 55 matches is the longest ever by any coach in Nigeria, is currently handling Nigeria’s Africa Cupof Nations and World Cup qualifying rivals, Benin Republic. He was succeeded in the interim by Austin Eguavoen who is currently having another interim stint.
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