Victory for Jose Peseiro’s Super Eagles over the Elephants will boost their chances of reaching the Round of 16
After a 1-1 draw with Equatorial Guinea in their opening 2023 Africa Cup of Nations fixture, Nigeria would be aiming to secure their first win against Cote d’Ivoire.
To achieve this, they must negotiate their way past the hosts who got off to a flying start following their impressive 2-0 triumph over Guinea Bissau.
These teams are meeting for the sixth time at Afcon, although it’s their first encounter at the tournament since 2013.
Coach Jean-Louis Gasset’s men will be buoyed by the fact that they could have Sebastien Haller and Simon Adingra available for selection.
For the Super Eagles, Alhassan Yusuf will not be available following injury suffered while in action versus Equatorial Guinea on Sunday.
Game Cote d’Ivoire vs Nigeria
Date Thursday, January 18
Time 6:00pm
For Soccernet.ng readers in Nigeria, they can watch that showdown on SuperSports, NTA and Afro Sports.
Cote d’Ivoire: Charles Folly, Yahia Fofana, Badra Ali Sangare, Evan Ndicka, Wilfried Singo, Ousmane Diomande, Ismael Diallo, Serge Aurier, Odilon Kossounou, Ghislain Konan, Willy-Arnaud Boly, Seko Fofana, Jean Seri, Franck Kessie, Idrissa Doumbia, Ibrahim Sangare, Lazare Amani, Max Gradel, Jeremie Boga, Simon Adingra, Oumar Diakite, Jean-Philippe Krasso, Sebastien Haller, Jonathan Bamba, Christian Kouame, Nicolas Pepe, Karim Konate.
Nigeria: Olorunleke Ojo, Stanley Nwabali, Francis Uzoho, Kenneth Omeruo, William Troost-Ekong, Semi Ajayi, Chidozie Awaziem, Calvin Bassey, Bruno Onyemaechi, Bright Osayi-Samuel, Ola Aina, Zaidu Sanusi, Alhassan Yusuf, Raphael Onyedika, Joe Aribo, Frank Onyeka, Moses Simon, Ahmed Musa, Alex Iwobi, Victor Osimhen, Kelechi Iheanacho, Samuel Chukwueze, Terem Moffi, Ademola Lookman, Umar Sadiq.
Super Eagles players warm up for Cote d’Ivoire
Nigeria know that they are in for a tough battle when they square up against Cote d’Ivoire on Thursday evening.
The Super Eagles picked up a point against Equatorial Guinea following their 1-1 draw in Abidjan – but they will have Victor Osimhen to thank for cancelling out Iban Salvador’s opener.
Despite going to the game as underdogs, William Troost-Ekong is bullish of his team’s chances against the Elephants.
“We wanted to win the first game, but things didn’t go the way we wanted. We have put that behind us and the focus is now on the game against Cote d’Ivoire,” he told the media.
“We have prepared the same way, but we hope to win this time around. Coming up against the hosts is going be a big challenge for us.
“There are a lot of experience players in our team, who have played in games like this in the past, so there is nothing to fear for us.
“It’s going to be a tough game, but I’m confident we will win.”
For Ivorian handler Gasset, he is anticipating his side to face challenges from the Super Eagles.
“Nigeria is a top team, they have good players, some of the best in Africa. You can’t judge them with the first game against Equatorial Guinea,” he said.
“I think they struggled with the weather a bit in their first game. It’s not easy to play at 2 pm here. Teams struggled even when they played in the evening, so you can imagine how difficult it was for them.”
“So, we are not going to judge them with the performance against Equatorial Guinea.
“It’s not going to be an easy game for us. They are a tough opponent and will make things difficult for us.”
Nigeria have not won any of their last four matches now after losing to Guinea before the tournament and drawing World Cup qualifiers with Lesotho and Zimbabwe, with pressure mounting on coach Jose Peseiro.
After their goals against Guinea-Bissau, either Seko Fofana or Jean-Philippe Krasso could become the first player to score in both of Cote d’Ivoire’s first two matches of an Afcon tournament since Gervinho and Yaya Toure did in 2013.
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