The Djurtus are without a win after three appearances at the continental championship but need a win against the three-time Afcon winners to make it to the next round
Guinea-Bissau star Judilson Mamadu Tuncará Gomes ‘Pelé’ has revealed the desire of the Wild Dogs to qualify for the knockout stage of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations by beating Nigeria on Wednesday.
The Super Eagles and the Djurtus (Wild Dogs) will meet at the Stade Omnisports Rounde Adjia on January 19 in the final Group D match of the ongoing Afcon.
Nigeria are already through to the Round of 16 after claiming convincing wins over Egypt’s Pharaohs on matchday one and Sudan’s Falcons on Saturday.
Presently with just a point earned in their opening day draw against Sudan, Guinea-Bissau need an outright victory over their West African neighbours.
But that is a tall order against a Super Eagles that are three-time winners of the tournament and have lost just two of their last 16 games at the Afcon, winning 12.
Nothing is impossible in football, though, especially with the Eagles likely to rotate and give game time to players who have not featured much in Cameroon.
Buoyed by their spirited but ultimately fruitless effort against Egypt (they lost 1-0), Guinea-Bissau are targeting a victory over their more illustrious foes.
And Monaco star Pele has vowed that they will give everything to earn their first ever win at the Afcon.
“It is our ambition to qualify and we are not giving up on that, we must do everything to defeat Nigeria because it is very important for us,” Pele told Goal.
“We will fight with everything we have and if we played as we did against Egypt, we will qualify. We want everyone at home proud of us.”
Guinea-Bissau have three draws and five defeats in their eight matches across their three appearances at the Afcon.
Nigeria had claimed their three continental triumphs before the Wild Dogs made their debut at the Nations Cup in 2017.
This post was last modified on January 23, 2022 4:09 pm