AFCON
‘MAN OF THE MATCH’ AWARD AWAITS BEST SUPER EAGLES’ PLAYER AGAINST LESOTHO
The ‘Operation 33’ theme established for the Super Eagles in the countdown to their last two matches in the home stretch of the Africa Cup of Nations qualifying series got on course with the three points obtained in Porto Novo on Saturday.
Another three- point exploit is the target of the team as they host the Crocodiles of Lesotho on Tuesday as an icing on their ticket to the 33rd edition of the African premier football tournament.
Charged by “33” Export Lager to aim for a perfect finish in the qualifiers, the Super Eagles rose up to the occasion over the weekend in Porto Novo; defeating the Squirrels of Benin Republic by a lone goal thereby ending their hosts’ eight-year unbeaten run at home just as Nigeria’s 497-day winless run since November 17th 2019 also came to an end.
No doubt the urge from the official lager beer to the team was the psychological boost that ended the winless run for the team.
On arrival back to the country on Sunday morning, the team was received by top echelon from corporate world and high profile celebrities in the entertainment industry, a platform provided by “33” Export lager at Heineken Beach House, Ilashe, up-scale in Lagos.
The Eagles will now be gunning for another double as they take on the Crocodiles who they defeated 4-2 in the first leg. The return match, which is potentially a celebration, comes up on Tuesday at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos.
Even though the AFCON ticket is already in the kitty, passionate football fans and consumers of “33” Export Lager are keen to see the Super Eagles go full throttle against the already eliminated southern African opponents.
“33” Export Lager’s football campaign slogan “Let’s Go Naija” captures the brand’s full support for the Super Eagles and a reminder to the millions of football fans to come out and cheer Super Eagles to victory.
In what will be the Super Eagles’ first official game in Lagos in 20 years, “33” Export will be giving the “Man of the Match” award during the last qualifying match on Tuesday.
33” Export Lager, the quality beer brand, the official beer of the Super Eagles and known for nurturing friendships among Nigerians will also be giving free match tickets to lucky consumers to access the main bowl of Teslim Balogun Stadium and watch Tuesday’s match live.
Loyal consumers will also be able to win quality prizes in the predict and win contest via the brand’s social media platforms (@33exportnigeria)
Meanwhile, 33” Export Lager beer through its Brand Manager, Rex Anieke, has urged passionate football fans and consumers to stay solid behind the team as they prepare for the final qualifying match in Lagos and the main tournament next year in Cameroon.
“The brand’s partnership with Super Eagles is a unique one and “33” Export Lager is passionate at building a solid fan base for the team in something similar to what is obtained among top European clubs in Europe.
“The campaign slogan, “Let’s Go Naija” is to enable passionate fans to stand behind and cheer the team to glorious success at all matches played by the national team within and outside the country,” he remarked.
With the 19th AFCON ticket already in the bag, the three-time African champions are among the contenders for glory at the next tournament and for more details, follow @33exportnigeria on all social media platforms
Faced with internal challenges that include players’ injuries and boycotts, the Libyan coach, Nasser Al-Hadhiri is believed by local press as facing a ‘near-impossible mission’ in Nigeria.
“The team’s mission against Nigeria seems almost impossible. The Nigerian team has a strong squad, led by names such as Ademola Lookman and Victor Boniface, which makes the task more difficult for the Libyan team”, Akhbarlibya24 editorialised.
It further reported that despite the difficult situation, the Libyan coach, Nasser Al-Hadhiri remains somewhat optimistic, as he hopes to achieve a positive result. He remarked: “We realize that winning against Nigeria is difficult, but we seek to return with a draw that will be positive for us and restore our hope in competing for qualification.”
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 Friday’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.
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