Nigeria sit in a strong position in their AFCON 2023 group after a hard-fought win against hosts Ivory Coast, with captain William Troost-Ekong slamming home a penalty in the second half to propel the Super Eagles to victory.
Nigeria now go into their final match of the group stage against Guinea-Bissau knowing that a victory will secure their spot in the Last 16, with a strong chance of them topping the group if other results go their way. We spoke to AFCON 1994 winner and Bet9ja Ambassador Victor Ikpeba about his thoughts on the match and how he expects things to play out.
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Guinea-Bissau are out but still dangerous!
Tournament football is always so difficult to predict because even when a team is bottom of a group and out of the competition, they are still playing on the international stage and wanting to do their country proud on the biggest stage.
Guinea-Bissau have lost both of their matches but will want to put on a show for their fans – on top of this, each player will know that getting opportunities to put yourself in the shop window isn’t a chance to waste. A big performance against Nigeria might pique the attention of clubs across Europe and get a player a big move.
I can see Nigeria taking this one 1-0. I know that before the tournament we were more worried about our defensive frailties than our attacking quality but now we seem to have developed a bit of defensive security but haven’t clicked attacking-wise. I trust that this will come with time, however.
A change in shape for The Super Eagles
I think that playing five in defence was a good move by Jose Peseiro against Ivory Coast, but I think we need more attacking threat in this match. We played a 4-3-3 in the opening match which left Victor Osimhen quite isolated, so I would like to see a variant of a 4-4-2 against Guinea-Bissau.
I would like to see a bit more combination play between the attacking players – I think that Ademola Lookman or maybe Kelechi Iheanacho (if fit) would work well in behind Osimhen and help connect the midfield and defence.
It is important to get as many different looks from your team early in the tournament because you never know when you might need to roll the dice in the knockout stages. Having a plan B that you can rely on can be the difference between staying in AFCON or going out!
Nigeria to win 1-0 – Booking code: 639CQTY
