The Jacques Lemans Arena in the Austrian city of St. Viet an der Glan will come alive on Tuesday as the Super Eagles of Nigeria takes on the Carthage Eagles of Tunisia in an international friendly.
Gernot Rohr’s men, this time, will be itching to deliver a much better performance than they displayed in their 1-0 defeat to African champions Algeria on Friday. Bensebeini Ramy’s 6th minute strike proved to be the match decider as the Desert Foxes recorded a third consecutive win over their Nigerian opposition at the Worthersee Stadium.
Tunisia, on the otherhand, will approach the Tuesday night clash with the hope of continuing their unbeaten run which has lasted five matches now. Unlike the Super Eagles, Tunisia did record a win – in fact an emphatic one – in their friendly engagement on Friday night. Ligue 1 stars Wahbi Khaziri, Saif-Eddaine Khaoui and Brondby’s Anis Slimane combined beautifully for the Carthage Eagles to put three past hapless Sudan at the Stade Olympique de Radès in Tunis.
The two majestic Eagles last met at the third-place match of the African Cup of Nations in 2019 where Odion Ighalo’s third-minute strike earned Nigeria a 1-0 win.
However, you will be seeing a noticeably different Nigerian set-up from the one that clinched Bronze at the continental tourney a year ago. Apart from the fact that the Man United star goalscorer Ighalo and Chelsea great John Mikel Obi have undergone retired from the team, a lot of established starting XI regulars will be unavailable for Tuesday’s game.
Leicester City midfield colossal Wilfred Ndidi, Joe Aribo, Oghenekaro Etebo, Daniel Akpeyi and Francis Uzoho will all miss the encounter due to injuries. Victor Osimhen will also be unavailable as he is currently undergoing a two-week quarantine after coming in contact with a coronavirus-imfected teammate at Napoli.
Team News
– Nigeria:
Forward Samuel Kalu was subbed off in the Algeria clash with a knock but Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr has not raised any alarm on the availability of the player for Tuesday’s game, so it’s yet possible that can feature.
It is expected that Rohr will start another goalkeeper other than Maduka Okoye who lasted the distance against Algeria. LASK Linz’s Tobias Lawal, however, can’t be selected to man the post despite training with the team as he’s yet to obtain a Nigerian passport.
– Tunisia:
One of the scorers in their last friendly Saîf-Eddine Khaoui is unavailable for the game with an injury he suffered in their Friday game. In fact, he did not travel with the squad to Austria.
Zamalek’s Ferjani Sassi and Vancouver Whitecaps defender Jasser Khmiri are also not available for selection against Nigeria.
What the Managers Say
– Nigeria’s Gernot Rohr:
“We definitely must put up a greater effort against the Tunisians. It is an opportunity for some of the players to rise up to the occasion, stake a claim.
“They are ready to go and I believe we would see a much better game on Tuesday.”
Head to Head
It’s pretty level in the head-to-head record of games between the two sides. Both teams have met 19 times with seven resulting in draws and six ending in a win for either sides.
Nigeria win: 6
Draw: 7
Tunisia: 6
Where to Watch
It’s confirmed the game will be live on the SuperSport LaLiga channel which is available on DStv and GOtv. African Independent Television (AIT) are also expected to beam the encounter live.
What are your predictions for the game? Which Eagle will come top? It will sure be a close game as considering rankings show there’s apparently only a marginal difference in the strength of both teams – Africa no. 2 Tunisia & Africa no. 3 Nigeria.
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