The Carthage Eagles have arrived at the tournament with a fearsome record: 22 goals scored and none conceded during their World Cup qualifying campaign.

That run has made Tunisia one of the continent’s form teams — and, on paper, one of the toughest nuts for Nigeria to crack in Group C, which also features Uganda and Tanzania.

Trabelsi, who previously led Tunisia at the 2013 AFCON and was a losing finalist as a player in 1996, says his team is no longer content with just participating.

“We’re not here to send messages to anyone,” he told CAFOnline.com. “We respect all our opponents, including Nigeria, but our goal is to compete seriously and aim for a top-four finish — and, if possible, more.”

The 56-year-old coach, who once guided Tunisia to the African Nations Championship (CHAN) title in 2011, has built his side around defensive organisation and swift, structured counterattacks. His approach has earned Tunisia the nickname “the Italians of Africa”, a reputation they intend to reinforce in Morocco.

Nigeria, on the other hand, are expected to test that famed Tunisian discipline with their wealth of attacking options, from Victor Osimhen to Ademola Lookman and Samuel Chukwueze. For Trabelsi, however, the Super Eagles’ pedigree only adds to the motivation.

“Nigeria remains a continental powerhouse, with a vast pool of talent in top European clubs,” he said. “But AFCON is unpredictable. You can never take anything for granted.”

The Tunisian tactician is counting on experience and cohesion to make the difference. Veterans like Youssef Msakni, Ellyes Skhiri, and goalkeeper Bechir Ben Said are expected to anchor a squad blending youth and experience.

“To win trophies, you need something extra,” Trabelsi admitted. “Tunisia has been consistent — qualifying for almost every AFCON and several World Cups — but consistency must now translate into success.”

For Nigeria’s Super Eagles, who are seeking to reclaim the continental crown last won in 2013, Tunisia’s resurgence is both a warning and a challenge.

The two nations have developed a fierce rivalry over the years, with Tunisia famously knocking Nigeria out of the 2004 AFCON on penalties in Rades, before Nigeria exacted revenge in later editions.

This time, both teams meet again in Morocco — in a group that could easily produce surprises. Yet, for Trabelsi, the message remains clear: Tunisia are in Morocco not just to compete, but to win.

“I’d love to see the headline, ‘Congratulations to Tunisia — a strong campaign rewarded,’” he said confidently.

Whether that headline comes to pass may depend on how his “Italians of Africa” handle the pace, flair, and firepower of Nigeria’s Super Eagles — a team equally determined to soar back to the top of African football.

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At the moment, 11 of the 17 premier league clubs are on course as the knock-out competition gets to the Round of 32.

Undoubtedly, the non-application of seeding has seen five fixtures pitching the top clubs together while another five pitched lower division clubs against one another.

The remaining six pairings have premier league clubs facing lower ranked teams. These include: relegation-threatened Akwa United facing Zamfara United in Abuja and Gombe United facing former top division sides, El-Kanemi Warriors in Kaduna.  

Another ‘mixed fixture’ will see Premier sides, Kwara United facing Warri Wolves while Abia Warriors will face Sporting Supreme of the FCT.

Premier sides, Bendel Insurance will face Wikki Tourists of Bauchi as Enyimba are pitched against Akwa Ibom’s FC Rockets.

But nothing is guaranteed to the Premier League sides as knockout competitions are replete with underdogs upstaging power houses.

No matter the situations, five of the Premier League are doomed for elimination. Former champions Lobi Stars and Shooting Stars in a “Star War” in Awka.

Plateau United and  Sunshine Stars are meeting in Abuja just as Rivers United will face fellow Premier League sides, Niger Tornadoes in Auchi.

Katsina United and Bayelsa United will play in Abuja while Doma United face  Kano Pillars in Bauchi.

MEN’S ROUND OF 32 FIXTURES

Bendel Insurance (Edo) Vs Wikki Tourists (Bauchi) – Abuja Area 3 – 22/05/24 – 4pm

EFCC FC (FCT) Vs Edel FC (Anambra) – Ilorin – 22/05/24 – 4pm

ABS FC (Kwara) Vs Kebbi United (Kebbi) – Abuja Goal Project – 23/05/24 – 4pm

Akwa United (Akwa Ibom) Vs Zamfara United Feeders (Zamfara) – Abuja Bwari – 23/05/24 – 4pm

Gombe United (Gombe) Vs El-Kanemi Warriors (Borno) – Kaduna – 22/05/24 – 4pm

Lobi Stars (Benue) Vs Shooting Stars (Oyo) – Awka – 22/05/24 – 4pm

Ikorodu City (Lagos) Vs Coal City (Enugu) – Benin City – 23/05/24 – 4pm

Hammola Int’l (Osun) Vs Inter Lagos (Lagos) – Ibadan – 22/05/24 – 4pm

Warri Wolves (Delta) Vs Kwara United (Kwara) – Enugu – 22/05/24 – 4pm

Abia Warriors (Abia) Vs Sporting Supreme (FCT) – Benin City – 22/05/24 – 4pm

Nasarawa United (Nasarawa) Vs Sokoto United (Sokoto) – Kano – 22/05/24 – 4pm

FC One Rocket (Akwa Ibom) Vs Enyimba FC (Abia) – Yenagoa – 22/05/24 – 4pm

Plateau United (Plateau) Vs Sunshine Stars (Ondo) – Abuja Goal Project – 22/05/24 – 4pm 

Rivers United (Rivers) Vs Niger Tornadoes (Niger) – Auchi – 22/05/24 – 4pm

Katsina United (Katsina) Vs Bayelsa United (Bayelsa) – Abuja Bwari – 22/05/24 – 4pm

Doma United (Gombe) Vs Kano Pillars (Kano) – Bauchi – 22/05/24 – 4pm

Banyana Banyana game plan was to either beat the Super Falcons at home as they did two years ago in Lagos or earn a draw in Friday’s first leg match of Olympic qualifier in Abuja.

That did not happen as Rasheedat Ajibade’s penalty kick earned Nigeria an outright 1-0 win over South Africa – a first win since the Super Falcons’ 1-0 win in Limbe, Cameroon in 2016.

But according to an account in the South African Football Association website, “Banyana Banyana will have to give it all in the second leg.”

It reported that Banyana Banyana came back from the first half break a much more improved side but failed to convert the few chances that came their way.

“Outstanding goalkeeper Kaylin Swart had to work overtime to deny the hosts from extending their lead.

“Despite creating numerous chances for an equaliser, the game ended 1-0 for the Super Falcons.”

The two African giants will lock horns for the second leg on Tuesday at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria where coach Desiree Ellis’ charges will be hoping to overturn the deficit.

Coach Ellis believes they are still in the game and can turn things around in the second leg on Tuesday.

“Look, we said it was going to be a tight game but we are hopeful of overturning this result in the second leg.”

“We are still in the game. We created a couple of chances, a penalty decided the match but the game is not over.

“I thought in the second half we raised our game a lot and created good chances and could have equalized.

“Maybe we could also have gotten a penalty at the end when Jermaine was fouled but I’m very proud of the team and we will take it back to Pretoria,” said Ellis.

Nigeria’s Super Falcons beat Banyana Banyana of South Africa 1-0 in their first leg of the final qualifiers for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The return leg comes up on Tuesday in Pretoria.

The South Africans consider the result a good one going into the final qualifier.

Skipper of the side, Rasheedat Ajibade scored the lone goal from a penalty spot in the 43^rd minute.

It is Nigeria’s first outright defeat of South Africa since 2018 when Nigeria excelled in an ensuing penalty shootout after a goalless draw in the final match of the Africa  Cup of Nations in Ghana.

In their next two matches.

First, they pulled off a big upset beating Nigeria 4-2 to win the Aisha Buhari Cup in Lagos in September 2021 and followed up with another 2-1 win in a Group C match at the 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.

Former South Africa junior international Luke Fleurs, who played for the country’s most popular club Kaizer Chiefs, has been killed in an attempted hijacking in Johannesburg, police officials confirmed on Thursday.

The 24-year-old was shot in the chest at a petrol station on Wednesday night and the assailants drove off in his vehicle.

“While waiting to be served by the petrol attendant, he was confronted by two armed males,” police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Mavela Masondo told reporters, adding no arrests had yet been made.

Centre back Fleurs played every minute for South Africa at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021, and that same year was called up to the senior team for World Cup qualifiers against Ethiopia, though he did not make it off the bench and was uncapped.

“We woke up to the heartbreaking and devastating news of the passing of this young life. This is such a huge loss for his family, friends, his teammates and football in general. We are all grieving this young man’s passing,” South African Football Association president Danny Jordaan said in a statement.

South Africa’s Minister of Sport, Arts & Culture, Zizi Kodwa said he was “saddened that yet another life has been cut short due to violent crime”.

Fleurs joined Chiefs from SuperSport United in October, having come through the Ubuntu Football Academy in Cape Town.

-Reuters

The Management of Shooting Stars Sports Club (3SC), has condoled with ex international, Chief Segun Odegbami over the death of his son, Oluwagbeminiyi

.Odegbami had most of his club career at the Shooting Stars when it was known as IICC Shooting Stars. He was a star-performer when the club became the first team in Nigeria to win continental trophy in 1976.

In a condolence message, signed by the Shooting Stars’ Executive Chairman, Honourable Babatunde Olaniyan, the Oluyole Warriors described the sad occurrence as heart breaking.

“We received with shock and pain, the news of the demise of Oluwagbeminiyi, son of our legend, Chief Segun Odegbami

“This is a loss that is too painful to bear., but God knows best.

“While we share in the grief of our legend, we pray that the Almighty God will grant  Oluwagbeminiyi peaceful rest and grant Chief Odegbami and the entire family the needed strength to overcome this difficult moment.”

A confrontation of epic proportion is expected on Friday in Abuja when Nigeria’s Super Falcons face South Africa’s Banyana Banyana in a quest for Group C ticket for the women’s football tournament of the Paris 2024 Olympics.

According to a  report in a South African newspaper, Sowetan, one of the South African players, Lebohang Ramalepe, a fullback, has described the battle  as “do or die”, particularly because both these powerhouses of women’s football on the continent failed to qualify for the previous Olympics, staged in Tokyo in 2021.

“Remember, both of us missed the last Olympics, so this game is a do or die kind of game. This is a new challenge for us and we are not going to dwell much on what happened in our last encounters with Nigeria because we might lose ourselves if we do that,” Ramalepe said.

The legend himself made the sad news public on Monday morning when he announced the demise of the young man who breathed his last on Good Friday, 29^th March 2024.

The General Secretary of Nigeria Football Federation, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi, MON empathized with the 1980 AFCON winner: “The death of a son is perhaps the worst thing that can happen to any living parent. It is with a deep sense of sorrow that we commiserate with Dr. Olusegun Odegbami. This must be a very tough period for him.

“I remember the passion with which our former captain traversed the whole of Cote d’Ivoire covering the Africa Cup of Nations earlier in the year, and his palpable passion and fervour any time he had the opportunity to speak with the Super Eagles’ players. He believed strongly in the team and wanted it to win the trophy. I know how disappointed he was that we lost in the Final match.”

Dr. Sanusi disclosed that the NFF and the entire Nigeria Football fraternity have been praying for the repose of the soul of Oluwagbeminiyi Omo Odegbami since the unfortunate news broke on Wednesday.

“We are in grief. Dr. Odegbami is a great friend apart from being a legend of the Nigeria game and a former captain of Nigeria. Most of us marvel at his unflagging love and zest for the Nigeria game. We pray that God gives him the fortitude to pull through these difficult moments and also grant the departed young man eternal rest.”

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The 2-0 loss to Mali last week in Morocco may have caused the Super Eagles to drop from last month’s 28^th position to 30^th as the latest FIFA ranking was released Thursday morning.

But despite the drop in global ranking, the Super Eagles are still third in Africa behind Morocco and Senegal.

The Nigeria versus Mali match was just one of the 174 games at the last international window. Nigeria played two matches, one of which Nigeria won one, a 2-1 defeat of their traditional rivals, the Black Stars of Ghana.

According to a press release by FIFA, the matches, played all over the world had a significant effect on the current  World Ranking, most notably within the top ten.

Argentina (1st) continue to lead the way ahead of France (2nd), but Belgium (3rd, up 1) have returned to the podium at the expense of England (4th, down 1). Brazil (5th) complete the top five, but Portugal (6th, up 1) are now knocking on the door. The Netherlands (7th, down 1) have slipped one place, whereas Spain (8th), Italy (9th) and Croatia (10th) have all held on to their positions.

The USA (11th, up 2), Colombia (12th, up 2), Ukraine (22nd, up 2) and Poland (28th, up 2) have all made progress up the ranking, as have Czechia (36th, up 4), Palestine (93rd, up 4) and Kyrgyz Republic (100th, up 4), all of whom have taken the biggest strides among the top 100 teams.

It is outside of the top 100, however, that the biggest movers are to be found. Libya (114th, up 6) and Afghanistan (151st, up 7) have made impressive progress, but it is Indonesia (134th, up 8) who are the biggest climbers on the back of their two victories over Vietnam during FIFA World Cup 26 qualifiers.

Finally, the performances of Qatar (34th, up 3) and Comoros (117th, up 4) are also worthy of mention as both teams are now currently in their highest-ever position in the ranking.

Cameroon’s football federation (FECAFOOT) did not know about the appointment of a new national team coach and were surprised by the sports ministry announcement naming Belgian Marc Brys.

Cameroon Sports Minister Narcisse Mouelle Kombi said 61-year-old Brys was taking over as coach of the Indomitable Lions following the dismissal of Rigobert Song in February.

But the federation said on Wednesday it was taken aback by the news, setting up the potential of conflict between the sports ministry and soccer federation which could lead to a ban for one of Africa’s footballing heavyweights.

“The Cameroonian Football Federation has learned, at the same time as all Cameroonians, the appointment to positions of responsibility for the national senior men’s football team. FECAFOOT expresses its great surprise at this act,” the statement said.

“This unilateral decision comes at the same time as FECAFOOT agreed frank cooperation to achieve a beneficial solution for the future of our dear Indomitable Lions.

“FECAFOOT intends to seek an explanation on this regrettable situation,” it added.

Normally, the football federation would appoint and pay its coaches but in some African countries this is done by the government, especially when federations are cash-strapped.

FECAFOOT is headed by former African Footballer of the Year Samuel Eto’o, who had a storied career playing in Europe.

Eto’o has tried to assert some independence but has also had to tread carefully in a country where matters around the football team are high priority for the government.

Long-standing Cameroon president Paul Biya has often weighed in on team affairs, famously demanding that 38-year-old Roger Milla be included in the squad for the 1990 World Cup.

The veteran striker went on to score key goals as Cameroon became the first African country to reach the quarter-finals.

Cameroon have qualified for eight World Cup tournaments, more than any other African country, making the Indomitable Lions one of the country’s major assets.

World soccer’s governing body FIFA has frequently banned countries when governments interfere in the football federation’s affairs. Kenya and Zimbabwe are two African countries who have only recently had such a ban lifted.

The much-anticipated announcement of the new coach was made on Cameroon television on Tuesday.

Brys has coached clubs in Belgium, the Netherlands and Saudi Arabia, but this is his first national team appointment.

-Reuters