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Fierce Battle Of ECOWAS-quitting Neighbours As Mali Face Burkina Faso In Round Of 16 Showdown –

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Fierce Battle Of ECOWAS-quitting Neighbours As Mali Face Burkina Faso In Round Of 16 Showdown -

Both Burkina Faso and Mali along with Niger Republic under military rule have in one accord decided to leave the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Though in one accord politically and possibly, economically, Burkina Faso and Mali will put all that aside this Tuesday to fight a different battle. A fight for a place in Africa Cup of Nations’ quarter-finals.

It is not a battle to be fought by their military outfits, but by the footballers who will take to the pitch at Korhogo’s Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium.

It  will be the final battle of the Round of 16.

Separated by a mere 650km distance, the meeting between the two neighbours promises to produce fireworks, with both sides yearning for continental glory having both fallen short on two separate occasions.

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Having come agonisingly close to lifting the title in 2013, the Stallions, who finished second behind Angola in Group D will be looking at going all their way despite them having a jittery start to the tournament. Nigeria provides a common denominator for both.

At the 2013 edition, the Super Eagles of Nigeria used Mali as the stepping stone to get to the final, while Burkina Faso was the team beaten in Nigeria’s third success at the edition that took place in South Africa.

This time around, their journey to the round of 16 was not the easiest after having to sweat for a victory over Mauritania whom they edged 1-0 in their opener before a 2-2 stand-off between them an Algeria in their second fixture.

Their final group match saw them outclassed by Angola in a 2-0 defeat which was fortunately not too detrimental for their campaign as their 4 points where enough to see them advance.

Mali on the other hand lived up to the high expectations placed on them in Group E after a strong opening against South Africa.

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The Eagles soared over Bafana Bafana by 2-0 in their opening clash but seemed to have let the foot of the pedal in their last two group matches after playing out to a 1-1 draw with Tunisia, before the Brave Warriors of Namibia held them to a goalless draw.

A lot will be expected of the Eagles’ ace, Yves Bissouma who is yet to stamp his authority in the competition, while the Stallions’ Bertrand Traore will be entrusted with being a key figure for his side.

Interesting Facts:

  • Both Burkina Faso and Mali are making their 13thAFCON appearance.
  • Both nations have lost anAFCON Final.

Burkina Faso

In their previous 12 appearances, they have either been eliminated in the group stages (8 times) or at least reached the semi-finals (4 times) including the final defeat in 2013 (0 – 1 Nigeria).

Mali

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This is Mali’s 13th appearance, and 9th in a row. No side has ever played as many games as Mali (54) at the TotalEnergies CAF AFCON without ever winning the trophy. Their best performance dates back to 1972 where they lost 3-2 in the final against Congo.

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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AFCON

Present and Past as CAF Coaches Symposium unites Rohr, Peseiro and Eguavoen

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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.

Peseiro left his position after the Africa Cup of Nations

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AFCON

Rwanda newspaper gives 5 lessons gleaned from Rwanda-Nigeria clash

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The goalless outing of Rwanda and Nigeria in Tuesday’s Africa Cup of Nations’ qualifying match has thrown up some lessons, according to New Times, the leading newspaper in Rwanda.

New Times reckons that both teams put up a great show as Amavubi showed their pedigree against one of the giants in African football. It then pointed out the five elements that shaped the game.

Amavubi played with total confidence

No African country comes close to Nigeria in terms of “big players” country. Almost all their players are playing for top clubs in Europe’s top leagues but that did not deter Frank Spittler’s men.

They played with total confidence and self-belief. At a point in the game, Rwanda and APR FC left-back Claude Niyomugabo was mesmerizing former Chelsea and Lazio player Ola Aina who is now with Nottingham forest to the point that he was booked his jersey when he couldn’t match his pace.

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Confidence among Rwandan players was high and it helped them to get goalless draw results.

Bizimana, the midfield controller

The Amavubi skipper pocketed Nigerian midfield led by Wilfred Ndidi. He run a one-man show in the middle of the pitch as he was unplayable.

His passes and tackles were superb. He track-backed several times as deep as his own penalty box to win balls.

Lookman’s danger left Rwandan defense shaking

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Victor Osimhen is arguably Nigeria’s star man but it is clear that Ademola Lookman is the most dangerous player in the team.

He could hold on the ball, dribble, shoot and pass. The Atalanta winger was the best player for the visitors as he gave Amavubi a tough time before being substituted in the 89th minute for Taiwo Awoniyi.

Amavubi’s attacking problem

“The only problem with my team is in attack. You could see the difference between my attackers and the Nigerian attackers but that is what we have now. Maybe it is the Nigerian attackers who should have played against the Nigerian defenders. We created some chances but couldn’t score.”

These were some of the comments made by Amavubi head coach Torsten Spittler in the post-match press conference.

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Rwanda looked solid both at the back and in midfield but the likes of Innocent Nshuti and Gilbert Mugisha weren’t up to the task in attack.

They wasted three good chances that could have resulted in goals.

Goal scoring is a problem for Amavubi and Spittler is ready to find an antidote. The German gaffer was, however, happy that his team was able to create chances which is a sign of improvement.

Fiacre Ntwari’s heroics

The Amavubi shot stopper was the hero of the day for Rwanda, and he has showed why he is among the best goalkeepers in Africa now.

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Against a rampaging Nigerian attack of Victor Boniface, Osimhen, Lookman, Awoniyi and Samuel Chukwueze among others, Ntwari pulled as many as nine superb saves to keep his side in the game.

The Kaizer Chiefs shot stopper was very cool in the posts as he prevented the Nigerian attackers from scoring.

Ntwari, is gradually carving a niche for himself and he is proving to be a key component of the Amavubi set up.

 

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AFCON

Austin Eguavoen remains the ‘Big Boss’, says NFF

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BY KUNLE SOLAJA

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has clarified the position of interim manager of the Super Eagles, Austin Eguavoen. “He is still in charge”, the NFF Head of Communications, Ademola Olajire told Sports Village Square, this Wednesday.

Austin Eguavoen who is the Technical Director at the NFF was drafted to handle the Super Eagles when the negotiation with Germany’s Bruno Labbadia broke down.  Eguavoen, a former Super Eagles player and later coach was drafted to  rescue the situation.

It was claimed that having executed the Super Eagles’ immediate assignments, his job was done. But the  NFF spokesman has clarified that nothing has changed from the initial announcement concerning Eguavoen.

“He remains with the team and his is an employee of the NFF which has drafted him to the Super Eagles. He remains there until the federation takes another decision.

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 “He was surprised when we landed from our Kigali trip and I showed the trending news on the social media.”

  The Super Eagles’ next assignment will be on MatchDay 3 of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers next month when the team hosts Libya in Uyo.

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