Nigeria head into the contest on the back of a 1-0 loss to Ecuador in a friendly earlier this month, While Sierra Leone secured a 1-0 win over Congo in their last match in March.
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Nigeria will host Sierra Leone in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers at the Abuja National Stadium on Thursday. It will be the opening fixture of Group A, also consisting of Guinea-Bissau and Sao Tome and Principe. Only the top two teams will qualify for Ivory Coast 2023 and the Super Eagles are the favourites to finish at the top of the group at the end of the group stage. Nigeria will be aiming for a third consecutive appearance at the continental showpiece, but the Jose Peseiro coached side are winless in their last five games. Meanwhile Sierra Leone secured a 2-1 victory against Congo in their last game in March.
List of invited players for #TotalEnergiesAFCONQ2023 vs #SierraLeone & #SaoTome #SoarSuperEagles pic.twitter.com/stu7X9Y80K
— The NFF ?? (@thenff) June 4, 2022
The three-time AFCON champions didn’t have a great start to their friendlies, losing 2-1 ro Mexico on May 29 before going down against Ecuador earlier this month. At the Red Bull arena, Pervis Estupinan’s early strike was enough to separate the two sides and hand Nigeria their third defeat of the year. The Super Eagles are winless in their last five games and will be desperate to start their AFCON qualifiers on a positive note against a side ranked 108th in the FIFA World Rankings. Nigeria’s last victory came in a 2-0 triumph over Guinea-Bissau at the AFCON in January. However, the Super Eagles are unbeaten in each of their last six qualifying games, claiming four wins and two draws in that time.
Sierra Leone were last in action in March, when they registered two consecutive wins over Liberia and Congo in friendly fixtures. At Mardan Sports Complex, Tottenham-man Kallum Cesay scored twice in the second half to put Leone Stars ahead, before Congo pulled one back through Vieljeux Prestige Mboungou. Sierra Leone’s performance in 2022 has been pretty inconsistent, having registered two wins, two draws and two defeats. The Leone stars will be aiming to pick up their third consecutive victory and get their AFCON qualifiers campaign off to a flyer. .
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Nigeria boss Peseiro has named a strong squad for the qualifiers. Napoli-man Victor Osimhen, who netted 14 goals in 27 Serie A games last season, is expected to lead the attack. Everton’s Alex Iwobi, Leicester City’s Ademola Lookman, Porto full-back Zaidu Sanusi among others make it a star-studded lineup.
As for Sierra Leone, head coach John Keister has named a 25-man squad for the upcoming fixtures. Queens Park Rangers defender Osman Kakay will marshall the defence while Tottenham’s Kallum Cesay is expected to pull the strings in the midfield.
Nigeria probable starting lineup: .Uzoho, Aina, Troost-Ekong, Ajayi, Sanusi, Aribo, Etebo, Lookman, Iwobi, Simon, Osimhen.
Sierra Leone probable starting lineup: Kamara, Kakay, Sesay, Caulker, Wright, Conteh, Cesay, Quee, Turay, Kamara, Kaikai.
The 2023 African Cup of Nations Qualifiers match between Nigeria and Sierra Leone will take place at the Abuja National Stadium and it will kickoff at 9:30 pm IST on June 9, Thursday
A selection of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers will be telecast live on beIN SPORTS.
