Nigeria’s Super Eagles have departed Uyo for Bissau ahead of their crucial 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying clash against Guinea-Bissau on Tuesday.
The three-time African champions left Uyo on Sunday afternoon after completing their final training session in Nigeria.
Coach Éric Chelle’s side held a closed-door session at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium earlier in the day.
The session began at 10am before the team headed to the airport for a scheduled 3pm departure on a chartered flight.
Nigeria go into the Group L encounter with three points after defeating Madagascar 2-1 in their opening fixture in Uyo.
The Super Eagles fell behind after Ehsan Kari put Madagascar ahead in the 16th minute.
Debutant George Ilenikhena restored parity in first-half stoppage time before another debutant, Moses Usor, completed the comeback in the 65th minute.
Guinea-Bissau also opened their campaign with a victory, defeating Tanzania 2-0 away from home.
The result leaves the Wild Dogs top of Group L on goal difference, ahead of Nigeria.
Tuesday’s encounter will take place at the Estádio 24 de Setembro in Bissau, with kick-off scheduled for 5pm Nigerian time.
Chelle is expected to hold another training session in Guinea-Bissau as he fine-tunes his plans for the decisive encounter.
The coach had warned that the Wild Dogs would present a different challenge from Madagascar.
“I’m happy because they found the solution. It was not easy,” Chelle said after the victory over Madagascar.
“So now we have to forget this game, analyse what we did, and then we have a second game in Guinea-Bissau.”
The fixture carries added importance because Tanzania are already guaranteed a place at the 2027 AFCON finals as co-hosts.
Consequently, only the highest-ranked team among Nigeria, Guinea-Bissau and Madagascar will secure the sole qualifying ticket from Group L.
With Nigeria and Guinea-Bissau both starting their campaigns with victories, Tuesday’s meeting presents an early opportunity for either side to strengthen its position at the top of the group.
The Super Eagles will now look to secure another three points in Bissau and take control of the qualification race.
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