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Three-time champions of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Nigeria kicks off her campaign against Equatorial Guinea on Sunday.
The Jose Peseiro-led side last won the continental title in 2013 but were absent at the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
Having accrued four silver and eight bronze in the history of the AFCON, the star-studded Nigeria team is one of the favourites in this competition.
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Captain Ahmed Musa and striker Victor Osimhen will lead the Super Eagles team in Ivory Coast.
Meanwhile, fans in Nigeria have cast doubts over the chances of the country winning a fourth title come February.
The reason is not farfetched – Peseiro has clearly overseen a string of poor performances lately. Draws against Lesotho and Zimbabwe in World Cup qualifiers coupled with a defeat to Guinea in a pre-AFCON friendly hasn’t helped matters.
On all three of their previous AFCON participations, Equatorial Guinea have successfully qualified from the group stage.
Date, kick-off time and venue
The Nigeria vs Equatorial Guinea match is scheduled to kick-off at 3pm (GMT+1/WAT) on Sunday, 14 January, 2024.
The match will take place at Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan. That was the same location where the opening match between Ivory Coast and Guinea-Bissau was played.
It is no longer news the hosts came out unscathed, beating their opponents 2-0. Al Nassr striker Seko Fofana and Jean Stephen Krasso grabbed the goals for the Ivorians.
Where to watch Nigeria vs Equatorial Guinea
TV channel: In Nigeria, fans can watch the match live on Sporty TV on Startimes, SuperSport on DSTV and on the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA).
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Also, in the UK, the game will be televised live on Sky Sports.
Live stream: AfroSport TV will be streaming all matches at the AFCON. You can visit their X (formerly Twitter) account @AfroSportTV to get the link for live streaming.
Meanwhile, subscribers in the UK can also catch the contest live online via the Sky Go app.
Nigeria vs Equatorial Guinea team news
Sadiq Umar and Victor Boniface have been ruled out of the tournament due to injury despite making the final 25-man squad. Wilfred Ndidi had earlier been ruled out to injury as well.
Terem Moffi, who replaced Boniface, was in action for Nice yesterday (Saturday). He is expected to be in Ivory Coast any moment from now.
Coach Peseiro confirmed Paul Onuachu, Umar’s replacement arrived the host nation on Saturday. Kelechi Iheanacho who was suffering from a muscle injury and had stayed back at his club Leicester City also arrived Ivory Coast on Saturday, according to Peseiro.
Napoli striker and reigning Africa Footballer of The Year, Victor Osimhen is expected to lead the line. Fulham midfielder Alex Iwobi is also expected to start. Frank Onyeka, Samuel Chukwueze and Calvin Bassey will be key players for the Super Eagles as well.
Meanwhile, 34-year-old captain Emilio Nsue is expected to lead Equatorial Guinea against the Super Eagles. He once played for English clubs Middlesbrough and Birmingham.
Charles Ondo, who plays as a defender for Championship side Huddersfield Town is Equatorial Guinea’s only UK-based invitee to this year’s AFCON.
ALSO READ: AFCON 2023 Update: Terem Moffi replaces Boniface in Super Eagles squad
Head to head (h2h)
The Super Eagles of Nigeria have a 100 per-cent record against Equatorial Guinea.
Nigeria wins: 3
Equatorial Guinea wins: 0
Draws: 0
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