Squirrels
AFCONQ: CAF confirms new date for Sierra Leone vs Benin clash
The Confederation of African Football has announced the postponed Africa Cup of Nations qualification encounter between Sierra Leone and Benin Republic will now take place during the June international window. The Group L fixture initially billed for Tuesday, March 30, at the National Stadium, Freetown did not take place owing to a Covid-19 controversy. However, both teams will now square up against one another in three months’ time – a game that will determine the last team to secure a place for Cameroon 2022. “The Africa Cup of Nations organizing committee has decided to postpone the above-mentioned match to the next Fifa international window scheduled for June 2021. We thank you in advance for your cooperation and understanding,” a post from Benin Football Federation Facebook page read....
AFCONQ: Super Eagles beat Crocodiles to end campaign unbeaten
Nigeria ended the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers with a 3-0 victory over Lesotho at Teslim Balogun Stadium. Victor Osimhen, Oghenekaro Etebo and Paul Onuachu strikes helped the Super Eagles to end the Afcon campaign unbeaten and finished at the top of the Group L table with 14 points. Nigeria headed into the encounter, having already secured their place at the biennial tournament, scheduled for Cameroon. Coach Gernot Rohr made a few changes to the team that started their 1-0 victory over the Republic of Benin at Stade Charles de Gaulle on Friday. The German tactician started Francis Uzoho Etebo and Tyronne Ebuehi who did not feature against the Squirrels in Porto Novo. Iwobi also returned to the starting XI after missing his side’s last outing as he tested positive for Covid-19 befo...
AFCONQ: Super Eagles boss wary of Benin ahead of crucial game
Nigeria national team coach Gernot Rohr believes the Republic of Benin will be a hard nut to crack, given their recent performances. The three-time African champions will square off against the Squirrels at Porto-Novo’s Stade Charles de Gaulle on Saturday. Michel Dussuyer’s men are on a five-game unbeaten run, having last tasted defeat against the Super Eagles in their first Afcon qualifying game in November 2019 Their home form has also been spectacular, given they have not lost for eight years, having last tasted defeat against Algeria in 2013 and Rohr has warned his side to be battle-ready for the encounter. “Benin have not lost a match for eight years at home, the last time they lost was in 2013 so you can imagine that we want to be the first team to win there in eight years,” Rohr tol...
AFCON: NFF confirms date of final qualifying matches for Super Eagles
On Wednesday, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) took to the official Twitter account of the Super Eagles to officially confirm the dates and kickoff times for the final stage of the senior men’s national football team’s 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers. For Matchday five, the Super Eagles will meet the Squirrels of Benin Republic on Saturday, March 27, in Porto-Novo, the capital of Republic of Benin, for a 1600 hours (GMT) kickoff. The next fixture against the Crocodiles of Lesotho, which will be the last of the series, will take place on Tuesday, March 30, in Lagos at 1600 hours (GMT) as well. At this point of the qualifiers, Nigeria has eight points from their first four Group L games and a draw from either of these matches will earn the Super Eagles the point they need ...
AFCONQ: Super Eagles will fall in Benin – Razak Omotoyossi
Benin Republic forward, Razak Omotoyossi says he’s optimistic the team will defeat the Super Eagles 2-0 in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier. The last time the two teams met, Nigeria triumphed 2-1 over the Squirrels at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo. Currently, the three-time AFCON champions are top of Group L on Eight points while Benin sit second on seven points. However, in an interview with Footballlive, Omotoyossi said that they are battle-ready to defeat the Super Eagles at home. “I believe Benin will win 2-0, but you must tell Mr. Musa (Ahmed) to prepare the team, as the captain,” said Omotoyossi. “Nigeria won the reverse fixture, the Super Eagles picking up a 2-1 victory in Uyo. “It’ll be my dream to play for a bigger team and move to a team where I can play even in in th...
Super Eagles out to end Algeria’s 18-match unbeaten run
The Super Eagles will go into October 9 friendly against Algeria with the sole aim of ending the Desert Foxes’ 18 match -unbeaten streak. The North Africans last defeat came almost two years ago, a 1-0 loss to the Squirrels of Benin in a 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier. Since then, the Desert Foxes have won 13 and drawn 5 matches. Djamel Belmadi’s side recorded wins against top sides like Senegal, Nigeria, Tunisia, Mali and Colombia during the period. The game will be first time the Super Eagles and Algeria will be meeting in a friendly. It will be a repeat of the 2019 AFCON semi-final which Algeria won 2-1 courtesy of Riyad Mahrez late free kick. Both countries have faced each other 21 times in official match at senior level. Get more stories like this on Twitter You Deserve to Make ...
Super Eagles coach proud of latest FIFA ranking
Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr says he’s happy with the improvement the team has made since his arrival. Since Rohr arrived in 2016 as a replacement for Sunday Oliseh, he has guided the team to the 3rd place 2019 African Cup of Nations and the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. The team also started their 2022 African Cup of Nations qualifiers with a bang, recording a back to back win over Squirrels of Benin and Lesotho. The three-time African champions recorded another milestone last Thursday when the latest FIFA ranking saw them moved up to 29th place on the world ranking and retained their third spot on the continent of Africa. Rohr said the team he’s happy with the ranking but insisted that there are loads of works to be done. “When I arrived we were not number three (in Africa). We were m...
