By Amaechi Agbo
Nigeria’s delegation to Guinea-Bussau for the second round of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying race departed the country on Sunday for the encounter which will hold on Tuesday
Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle is already perfecting his tactics ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier
Nigeria come from behind at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium to secure all three points in their opening Group L fixture, with George Ilenikhena and Moses Usor scoring to overturn Madagascar’s early lead.
Despite the win, the Super Eagles are second in the group because Guinea-Bissau opened their campaign with a 2-0 victory over Tanzania.
Nigeria will therefore be looking to beat the Djurtus in Bissau and move to the top of the group ahead of the next round of qualifiers.
The match will be played at the 15,000-capacity Estádio 24 de Setembro, where Guinea-Bissau are expected to have strong home support.
Chelle has already hinted that Nigeria could adopt a different approach against the Djurtus, given the differences between the two teams.
The coach said after the Madagascar game that he would first analyse Nigeria’s performance before deciding how to approach the next fixture.
“No, we have to analyse the game against Madagascar, see what we did, and then look ahead to our second game in Guinea-Bissau,” Chelle said.
“They are a different team; they have their strengths and weaknesses. I have to think about what we will do in Guinea-Bissau. I can’t reveal what system we will use. We have to prepare our minds for the game.”
The Super Eagles are expected to travel to Guinea-Bissau on Sunday morning.
There had been earlier reports that the team would leave Nigeria on Saturday, but that plan did not happen.
The squad is expected to travel by chartered flight, with the journey likely to take several hours.
Once in Bissau, Chelle’s men are expected to have two training sessions before the match on Tuesday.
Guinea-Bissau will provide a different test from Madagascar and have several players capable of causing problems for Nigeria.
Mama Baldé, Beto, Franculino Djú and Renato Nhaga are among the players the Super Eagles will need to keep an eye on during the encounter.
With both Nigeria and Guinea-Bissau sitting on three points after winning their opening matches, Tuesday’s fixture could have an early impact on the race for the top position in Group L.
Chelle will now have to settle on the right system and personnel as Nigeria look to follow up their comeback victory in Uyo with another important result on the road.
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