Victor Osimhen, Samuel Chukwueze Lead Attack Against Sierra Leone As AFCON Qualifiers Begin
The road to AFCON 2023 begins today, June 9, 2022, as the Super Eagles of Nigeria kick off their campaign to qualify for a 19th appearance at the African Cup of Nations. Drawn in group A, Nigeria will first battle Sierra Leone at the Moshood Abiola Stadium Abuja to an empty stadium, due to the pitch invasion during the World Cup qualifying match against Ghana. The match will air live on SuperSport Variety 4 (DStv channel 209) at 5PM. You can also watch on the go with the DStv app, which is available on the Apple and Google Play stores at no extra cost.
After crashing out of the 2021 African Cup of Nations despite an impressive group stage performance, the Super Eagles are eager to make their way back into the competition. However, to qualify for the tournament, they will also have to negotiate their way past Guinea-Bissau as well as Sao Tome and Principe in Group A.
The Super Eagles have lost their last two friendly matches, which were against Ecuador and Mexico, but the newly appointed head coach, Jose Peseiro, is hoping to improve on the team’s performance at the friendlies, with some key players who have been invited for the Sierra Leonean match.
Super Eagles captain, Ahmed Musa, though unable to make it to the United States friendlies is expected to be in the line up alongside Balogun, Etebo, Chukwueze, Sanusi, Umar and Lookman, who were equally absent in the game. Other stars like Omeruo, Onyeka, and Osimhen, as well as Israel-based goalkeeper Adeleye, who were not invited to the friendlies in America have been called for the AFCON qualifiers.
Ahead of Thursday’s encounter, the Confederation of African Football have appointed Ivorian officials to take charge of the game in Abuja, with Ibrahim Kalilou Traore as centre referee. His compatriots Adou Desire N’goh, Nouhou Ouattara and Kouassi Francois Biro will serve as assistant referee 1, assistant referee 2 and fourth official respectively.
With Osimhen leading the Nigerian attack alongside Samuel Chukwueze, will the Super Eagles secure their first win in the AFCON qualifiers campaign?
Watch the fierce encounter live on DStv. Simply visit www.dstvafrica.com to renew your subscription. New Subscribers can also enjoy the match by taking advantage of the Ghen Ghen Reloaded offer, which sees the DStv decoder, dish kit with one-month Compact subscription, drop from ₦18,600 to ₦12,000.
