Newscenter Media News Nigeria men’s football team, the Super Eagles will take on the Cheetahs of Benin Republic in a matchday five fixture of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
The game billed for Thursday at Abidjan will see Nigeria seal their spot in the competition if they avoid a loss.
A point will be enough for the Super Eagles to secure their place at the finals to be hosted by Morocco.
“We’ll fight for every ball and for every point, and that’s what we want to do tomorrow (today),”he told the Super Eagles media after team training.
“In respect to that, Benin is not a pushover, but we will work hard to make sure we achieve our objective.”
Current manager of Benin Republic, Gernot Rohr, had been in charge of the Super Eagles, and had led his side to victory over Nigeria in their first encounter at the World Cup qualifying.
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Eguavoen added: “We worked with Gernot Rohr for so many years. He was our head coach, and he’s a very good one, no doubt. He knows us in and out, he’s part of us, but we know him inside out as well.”
Meanwhile, Rohr believes that the Super Eagles were in a weak place last June when his team defeated them, but hopes Benin can repeat same feat to boost their chances of qualifying for the AFCON.
“In June, Nigeria was not at full strength. Now they are. The only player missing is Ajayi, who is injured. We know they are the favourites and it will take a feat to beat them again,” the Germany said during his interaction with the media.
“Despite the absences we have, we are confident that we can play a good game and get a good result.
“The key to this match will certainly be good organisation. Our newly composed defence will also have to perform well, because we have had to reshape our back line several times already.
”If we are in a good place, if we manage to develop our football as we have been doing for about a year and a half, I believe we can put them in danger. All the victories we have had here prove that we have no say in the matter, even against a big team.”
The match between Nigeria and Benin will kick off at 8:00p.m.
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