Ugochukwu Iwuchukwu
The Super Eagles of Nigeria will face the Blue Sharks of Cape Verde on Tuesday 7th September in a Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier at the 5,000-capacity Estádio Municipal Adérito Sena in Mindelo
The match will kick-off by 2pm Nigerian time.
The Super Eagles will be looking forward to consolidating on their position as Group C leaders when they face the Blue Sharks.
The team defeated Liberia two-nil at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos courtesy of a Kelechi Iheanacho’s brace.
Cape Verdean on the other hand were held to a 1-1 draw by the Central African Republic in Douala, Cameroon in their first group C match of the qualifiers.
The Nigerian side will be without top English Premier League stars like Leicester City duo of Kelechi Iheanacho, Wilfried Ndidi, Watford duo of Troost Ekong and Oghenkaro Etebo and Everton’s Alex Iwobi due to Covid-19 red alert UK restrictions on the Island country.
Also, Rangers of Scotland duo of Leon Balogun and Joe Aribo will not take part in the match.
Despite the number of high profile players missing from the squad, Super Eagles handler Gernot Rohr said the team must not make excuses as they face the Blue Sharks.
“It is a challenge for the staff and the players but we have to show our solidarity, and with the 20 players going to Cape Verde, we would be able to make a good team.
“We have to manage the situation without searching for alibis if it is not going well and that our team is able to bring about good performance even when we know it is going to be more difficult,” explained the 68-year-old Rohr.
Meanwhile, Super Eagles Captain Ahmed Musa is expected to use tomorrow’s game to relish his dream of 100th international cap for Nigeria.
The 28-year-old winger earned his 99th cap last Friday against Liberia after coming on as a second-half substitute for Iheanacho, and would be the third Nigerian to reach the 100 cap landmark after former captains Vincent Enyeama and Joseph Yobo.
