AFCON
Super Eagles to face Libya’s Knights at Libya’s 2nd largest city
In what mirrors the match days 3 and 4 of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying series, Nigeria and Libya will again meet at the same stage in the qualifiers for the 2025 edition.
The same pattern is also maintained with Nigeria hosting first before heading to Libya days later.
When the fixtures first occurred in 2018, an Odion Ighalo inspired Super Eagles won comfortably, 4-0. In the reversed leg in Sfax, Tunisia, the adopted home ground for Libya, Nigeria won 3-2 after Libya initially cancelled Nigeria’s early two-goal lead.
Heading to another back-to-back encounter, the currently bottom-placed Libya has opted to host Group D leaders Nigeria at the Martyrs of Benina Stadium..
The facility is located in the city of Benina, some 19 kilometres outside the country’s second largest city, Benghazi.
Known previously as Hugo Chávez Stadium, the stadium is a 10, 000-capacity facility with an artificial turf.
Both countries will do a Matchday 3 battle at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo on Friday, 11th October, before the clash in the city at the edge of the Mediterranean Sea on Tuesday, 15th October.
While the match in Uyo will kick off at 5pm, the battle in Benina will commence at 8pm Nigeria time.
Libya remain bottom of Group D after two rounds of matches, following a 1-1 at home to Rwanda (a game that was played at the Tripoli International Stadium) and a 1-2 loss to the Cheetahs of Benin Republic in Abidjan.
Nigeria top the pool with four points, after a 3-0 spanking of Benin Republic in Uyo on Matchday 1 and a scoreless draw with Rwanda’s Amavubi in Kigali on Matchday 2.
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.
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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