Nigeria’s Super Eagles vs Ecuador friendly gets United States venue

The international friendly match between the three-time African champions and the South American nation is scheduled for next month

New York Red Bulls have announced that the club’s stadium, the Red Bull Arena, will host the international friendly match between Nigeria’s Super Eagles and the Ecuador national team on Friday, June 3.

This will be the first time both nations will play each other on the football pitch.

Having qualified for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, Ecuador are preparing ahead of facing host country Qatar, Senegal, and the Netherlands in Group A at the tournament proper.

Nigeria failed to qualify for the Mundial, losing on aggregate to Ghana’s Black Stars in the final qualifying playoffs in March.

But the three-time Africa Cup of Nations winners have turned their attention to qualifying for the 2023 Afcon scheduled to be hosted by Ivory Coast.

Nigeria’s qualifying campaign kicks off with a home match against Sierra Leone on June 9, and the Super Eagles are billed to play a couple of friendly matches as tune-up games.

The Eagles meet Mexico first on May 29 at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, before trading tackles with Ecuador in Harrison, New Jersey, on June 3.

Six days later, the Super Eagles host Sierra Leone at a yet-to-be-determined Stadium in a matchday one clash of the 2023 Afcon qualifying series.

The Super Eagles are yet to get a new head coach after interim coach Augustine Eguavoen stepped down following Nigeria’s failure to qualify for Qatar 2022.