After the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers opening day victory against Sierra Leone, the Super Eagles of Nigeria head out to the Adrar Stadium to face the Falcons and True Parrots of São Tomé and Príncipe, in their Group A encounter on Monday at 2pm (Nigerian time).
The Super Eagles got their 2023 AFCON qualification campaign off to a fine start as they came from behind to edge out a resilient Sierra Leone side 2-1 on home soil. Sao Tome & Principe kicked off their hunt for a first-ever Africa Cup of Nations appearance on a losing note after suffering a 5-1 defeat in the hands of Guinea-Bissau.
São Tomé and Príncipe, who are currently on a run of 13 consecutive defeats across all competitions, will be looking to end this dry spell and get their campaign up and running against The Nigerians. While the three-time African champions will look to keep up its form heading into the encounter.
Preview
M A T C H D A Y! 🔥
🏟️ Stade Adrar, Agadir, Morocco
São Tomé & Principe 🆚 Nigeria
⏲️ 2.00pm
📲 #STPNGA#SoarSuperEagles
#TotalEnergiesAFCONQ2023 pic.twitter.com/qfyTKGhJ79— 🇳🇬 Super Eagles (@NGSuperEagles) June 13, 2022
In an action-packed affair at the Abuja National Stadium, Everton midfielder Alex Iwobi struck shortly after the quarter-hour mark to cancel out Jonathan Morsay’s 11th-minute opener, before Victor Osimhen struck in the 41st minute to complete the turnaround against Sierra Leone.
Prior to that, Super Eagles were on a five-game winless streak across all competitions, claiming two draws and losing three in that time. the poor run saw Nigeria miss out on the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Qatar, after failing to defeat Ghana over two legs.
In the pre-match press conference on Sunday, Super Eagles head coach Peseiro warned his players not to wrongly assume Sao Tome and Principe will be whipping boys and hence have to be at their best to get a ‘perfect’ result.
“We don’t think about 1-0, 2-0, or 5-0. We want to win, we want to score, we want to play well and we don’t want to concede a goal,” Peseiro told reporters in Morocco.
Currently occupying the bottom spot in Group A, Sao Tome and Principe were thrashed 5-1 by the Djurtus of Guinea-Bissau in their group opener on Thursday.
With this, many have predicted that the Super Eagles will also have an easy ride against the Falcons, but Peseiro has challenged his players not to underrate their opponent but to be at their very best.
“Sao Tome have good players in their team. We saw their last game, even though they lost, but didn’t do too badly,” Peseiro told a press conference on Sunday.
“We respect them. It’s good to respect your opponent in football. We need to be at our best to beat them. We have to show strong desire and determination.”
São Tomé and Príncipe
São Tomé and Príncipe will be hoping for an upset against the three-time African champions which would be their biggest win, facing a more illustrious team on neutral ground.
The Falcons and True Parrots have lost 13 consecutive games across all competitions, including each of their six outings in the 2022 AFCON qualifiers, where they scored just three goals and conceded 16 to finish rock bottom in Group C.
Elsewhere, the Super Eagles of Nigeria got their 2023 AFCON qualification campaign off to a fine start as they came from behind to edge out a resilient Sierra Leone side 2-1 on home turf.
Head To head
Nigeria will be facing São Tomé and Príncipe for the first time in history 🆕
Who’ll be the star of the night? 👀#TotalEnergiesAFCONQ2023 | @NGSuperEagles pic.twitter.com/YywnWdvOaM
— CAF (@CAF_Online) June 13, 2022
The game at Agadir will be the first-ever match up between Nigeria and São Tomé and Príncipe.
São Tomé and Príncipe have never qualified for the World Cup or the Africa Cup of Nations, and they boast of a poor record, with Mauritius the only team they have drawn against or beaten in the last six years, losing 17 out of 21 within that period.
However, Nigeria ended a run of five matches without a win after Thursday’s 2-1 victory against Sierra Leone. With nine wins and three draws in their last 12 AFCON qualifiers, the Super Eagles will be the favourites to grab all three points in the encounter.
While the three-time African champions will look to keep its momentum after Peseiro’s fist win as head coach, they have however struggled for results on the road in recent outings, picking up one draw and losing two of their last three away games, since a 2-0 victory over Guinea-Bissau back in January.
Venue
Even though they are the designated home team, São Tomé and Príncipe will host this game at the Grand Stade Agadir, also known as Adrar Stadium in Morocco.
The stadium in the Southern Moroccan city of Agadir was chosen as venue for the match 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Nigeria, because the island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe has no stadium fit to accommodate a match of this magnitude.
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