Coach Salisu Yusuf the head coach of Nigeria U-23 national team, otherwise known as the Olympic Eagles is cocksure that the Guineans will fall on Wednesday March 22 when his wards confront their counterparts in the first leg of 2023 U-23 AFCON qualifying fixture at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium Abuja.
The match is expected to kick off by 4pm.
Speaking with media in Abuja after yesterday training, Coach Yusuf opines that he has the players that can deliver the ticket over two legs of the crucial encounter.
“Though our preparation for this game did not go the way we wanted it, I believe we have done enough to get us a result,” Yusuf said.
“We have tried to replace dropped players with some players from foreign leagues and I believe they will click and deliver on Wednesday.
“As of Sunday evening, eight of the invited overseas-based players have reported to the team’s camp and we have begun the process of bonding and blending them with players from the domestic league. I think they will come good and get a good result,” the former Kano Plllars handler said.
“We want to qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris after missing out on the last edition, and the first step is to ensure that we make it to the AFCON in Morocco later this year. Nigerians should support and pray for us to achieve our target.”
Guinea’s U23 squad had their official training at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium on Monday evening, hours before the Olympic Eagles took to the same pitch for their final workout ahead of the encounter.
Nigeria have won all the available medals in the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament, taking the gold in Atlanta, USA in 1996 and the silver medal in Beijing, China in 2008. Eight years later, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the squad led by John Mikel Obi won the bronze.
The return leg of the Nigeria/Guinea has been scheduled for the Complexe Sportif Prince Heritier Moulay Al Hassan starting from 7pm Morocco time (8pm Nigeria time) on Tuesday, 28th March.
For today’s encounter in Abuja, CAF has appointed Sabri Mohamed Fadul from Sudan as referee. His compatriots Abdelgabar Mohamed Abdelgabar and Ahmed Subahi will serve as assistant referee 1 and assistant referee 2 respectively, while Ring Akech Malong from South Sudan will work as fourth official.
Munkaila Nassam Adam from Ghana will be the match commissioner.
The 2023 AFCON in Morocco will also serve as the African qualifiers for the men’s football event of Paris 2024 Olympic Games with four countries going to represent the continent.
