Super Eagles' William Troost-Ekong [Photo credit/Soccernet Media Limited]
The Super Eagles of Nigeria are set to face their oldest rivals, Cameroon, in their round-of-16 clash of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations at the Stade Félix-Houphouët-Boigny, as reported by Soccernet.ng.
In preparation for this crucial encounter against the Djurtus of Guinea-Bissau, the Super Eagles aim to secure victory to advance to the next round of the competition.
William Troost-Ekong could not feature for the Super Eagles against Guinea-Bissau, which saw Kenneth Omeruo replace him and captain the side, while Joe Aribo and Simon Moses earned more minutes against the Djurtus.
Meanwhile, in the 2013 AFCON Champions’ final training before their last-16 clash, Alhassan Yusuf and the former Watford defender were spotted back and training with the rest of the group.
This means that Jose Peseiro has his entire 25-man squad fit for the clash and is ready to claim victory against their oldest foe.
Soccernet.ng provides insight into how the Portuguese gaffer may line up his squad for this clash, which will determine their fate in the 34th edition of the AFCON tournament.
Stanley Nwabali, who impressed more than Francis Uzoho in Nigeria’s three previous group games, is expected to retain his position in goal for the Super Eagles.
For this clash, Troost-Ekong who did not earn a minute against Guinea-Bissau will return to the first team, while Semi Ajayi, and Calvin Bassey will retain their spots in the three-man defence adopted by Jose Peseiro.
Porto FC defender, Zaidu Sanusi, and Nottingham Forest defender, Ola Aina, are expected to play as wingbacks.
The midfield formation against Côte d’Ivoire is likely to remain unchanged, with Frank Onyeka alongside Alex Iwobi in the middle of the park.
Napoli forward, Victor Osimhen, is expected to lead the line in front, with Ademola Lookman returning to the team after being replaced by Moses Simon against Guinea-Bissau.
Nwabali; Troost-Ekong, Ajayi, Bassey; Aina, Iwobi, Onyeka, Sanusi; Lookman, Osimhen, Chukwueze
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I think Nigeria will be better off if Peseiro deploys a 3-5-2 formation instead of 3-4-3. He should just replace Chukwueze with Yusuf and play either Lookma or Iheanacho behind Osimhen. This formation should give us a better balance, after all we have not been scoring the goals even with the 3 men he’s been playing upfront. He should disregard whatever issue he has with Iheanacho and play him behind Osimhen instead of playing him as a left sided striker when he decides to sub Chukwueze. This guy should just think. A central midfield trio of Onyeka, Yusuf and Iwobi should give us added strength in the middle instead of playing just Onyeka and Iwobi. This is my own view but I know Peseiro wouldn’t have this same thought.