Nigeria begin a charge for their fourth continental crown on Tuesday in Fes, Morocco and the Taifa Stars of Tanzania will be their first adversaries as the East Africans campaign at successive AFCON tournaments for the first time in their history.
A lot has happened between now and when Nigeria played in the championship match of the last edition in Côte d’Ivoire but that should be behind them now as the Super Eagles go for another competitive campaign already christened “NAIJA 4 THE WIN”!
Malian Eric Chelle is in the saddle this time for a possible fourth crown for the Super Eagles and although expectations are not skyrocket high among fans of the Super Eagles, opponents of the team know they cannot afford to underrate Nigeria.
ACLSports.com’s Chief Football Writer, Fisayo Dairo, is in Fes for Tuesday’s game and he pens this Classic Preview for the game.
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WE HAVE HISTORY
By the time Nigeria open their Group C campaign against Tanzania at the Complexe Sportif de Fez, memories of the 1980 tournament’s opening game will be rekindled as that 3-1 triumph provided the Eagles with the needed fillip that galvanised them towards their first continental crown.
Nigeria vs Tanzania is not a common fixture in African football, and in fact; both nations have only met three times after 1980 with Kelechi Iheanacho scoring the winner in their last meeting in a dead-rubber AFCON qualifier in Uyo, nine years ago – Gernot Rohr’s first official game in charge of the Eagles.
Instructively though, Nigeria’s senior national team have never lost (be it in a friendly nor a competitive match) to Tanzania’s Taifa Stars in their previous eight meetings, a run they will be hoping to stretch beyond Tuesday’s game.
TIME FOR OSIMHEN?
Galatasaray striker Victor Osimhen has underlined his influence on Nigeria’s Super Eagles for the past twelve months and is within a touching distance of becoming the country’s highest goalscorer.
With his record-breaking career in full flow on all fronts at the moment, there is this special demand now placed on Osimhen’s head by Super Eagles fans especially in the wake of a disappointing World Cup qualification campaign which is; win something for/with the Super Eagles.
For his legendary status to be sealed in the green and white colours, Osimhen is expected to land a major piece of silverware and having come so close in Abidjan last year, North Africa could be the happy hunting ground for one of Africa’s most lethal predators.
Interestingly, a Super Eagles player had won either the top goalscorer or best player of the tournament award in three of the last four AFCON tournaments in North Africa. This might just be Osimhen’s time.
WHAT THEY SAY
Coaches and captains of both sides had their mandatory press conferences on Monday with contrasting thoughts. Nigeria’s Chelle goes with the demand of winning while Tanzania’s Miguel Gamondi goes with the attempt to qualify from the group.
Eric Chelle:
“The spirit in camp is very high. This game is very important for us to assess the momentum. The guys are really ready and focused on this game. This is a game we are very prepared to win.
Miguel Gamondi says:
“This is a very difficult group, with two of the five or six best teams in Africa. But we are not afraid. We are here to learn, improve, and prove the value of the Tanzanian players.
“In football, anything is possible. Nobody can stop us from dreaming. If we avoid mistakes and give an extra effort, we can do something good,” Gamondi concluded.
MATCH DETAILS:
Match: Nigeria vs Tanzania
Venue: Complexe Sportif de Fez, Maroc
Time: 6:30pm local time (and in Nigeria)
Referee: Dahane Beida (Mauritania)
HOW TO WATCH:
All games are live on SuperSport and you can watch LIVE on TikTok @AfroSportTV
