Nigeria will take on a wounded Guinea side in what is shaping up to be an important 2019 Africa Cup of Nations Group B clash at Alexandria Stadium in Alexandria on Wednesday afternoon.
Kick-off is at 4:30pm CAT (SA, GMT+2).
The Super Eagles got their campaign up and running with a hard fought 1-0 win over tournament newbies Burundi this past weekend.
Victory moved Nigeria top of the group and in pole position in build-up to their clash against their fellow West Africans on the Mediterranean coastline.
Odion Ighalo, who was the top goalscorer in qualifying, continued where he left off with a crisp finish following an outrageous back-heel assist by Ola Aina that superbly dissected a stubborn Swallows defence.
Nigeria head coach Gernot Rohr wasn’t too fazed by his team’s struggles against a well drilled Burundi side, with the result the most important as they now aim to take a huge step towards qualifying for the knockout stages in their pursuit of a fourth Afcon crown.
“The Nigerian supporters are happy that we won the match, and it’s good to win the first match, it’s never easy,” said Rohr.
“The second match will also be difficult against a wonderful team of Guinea, and the third one, Madagascar, will be challenging too. We will try to give our best.”
The Syli Nationale started Uefa Champions League winner Naby Keita on the bench for their 2-2 draw against Madagascar.
The Liverpool forward, though, is expected to start in midweek having fully recovered from a hamstring injury picked up at Camp Nou last month.
Guinea, who went unbeaten through qualifying on their way to topping a group that included Ivory Coast, opened the scoring against the island nation.
Madagascar, though, hit back with two goals in six minutes before Francois Kamano steered home a penalty to conjure a point for the Syli Nationale.
Nigeria are the third highest ranked team on the continent – 45th in the world – and sit 26 places above their opponents.
Courtesy: SuperSports
