The Super Eagles will square up to the Lone Stars of Liberia on Friday as they look to get their World Cup Qualifiers campaign off to a bright start.
The game will be staged at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos, Nigeria with kick-off time slated for 5:00 PM (Nigerian time).
The Eagles are coming into Friday’s clash with a good run of form in competitive games, with the last time they faced defeat in a competitive encounter being as far back as July 2019 – the 2-1 loss to Algeria at the AFCON semi-finals.
On paper, the Liberian team are no match for the Eagles, their FIFA ranking placement which stands at 150 (compared to the Eagles ranked 34) somewhat tells the whole story. But that is not today they will be pushovers in the encounter. The Lone Stars have never been to the World Cup finals, but they will be hoping to change that this time around.
Liberia coach Peter Butler, who is also aware of his team’s slim chances, has assured that they will give everything on the pitch against not only Nigeria, but also their other Group C opponents Cape Verde and Central African Republic.
“Yes, we are in a very tough group with opponents that have good players and are well-founded, but I am not going to complain about that,” Butler said.
“I rather work with what we have at our disposal to work with. I will back myself against any of the coaches in that group that we will be as organised, as competitive, and with an attacking mind on our games.”
Gernot Rohr, the Nigerian head coach, has meanwhile acknowledged that the Lone Stars are very much prepared ahead the encounter but that his boys will be ready for the challenge.
“We can’t underrate anybody, especially after what happened a few months ago in Benin City (4-4 draw with Sierra Leone),” Rohr said.
“Liberia have had a good preparation and president George Weah has ensured they have a good team, so it won’t be easy against them.
“They are hungry, they want to win this match but we are ready.”
The Eagles have played Liberia 14 times in the past, with Nigerian team leading on the Head-to-Head record with 9 wins while two games have ended in a draw. The last time both sides faced off was in 2018 – an intentional friendly staged in Liberia which the Eagles won 2-1.
Predictions
Under Rohr, the Eagles have been quite impressive in qualifier games (both for the AFCON and the World Cup). They seem to always have that big motivation, so it wouldn’t be different on Friday.
The Eagles are sure favourites to win. In fact, with the quality of players available in the Nigeria camp for this game, you should expect a big win.
Napoli striker Victor Osimhen has been Nigeria’s go-to man in recent times with five goals to his name in just five appearances at the recent AFCON qualifier series, so a goal from him in this game is very much likely.
Betting Tips
Nigeria to win — 1.18 odds
Nigeria team total goals over 2.5 — 2.10 odds
Correct score (4-0) — 9.25 odds
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