The Super Eagles of Nigeria in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, were defeated 2 nil, as they took on Guinea in their second AFCON 2023 warmup match.
When the Super Eagles defeated the Abu Dhabi team 12-0 on Sunday, most football enthusiasts thought the Nigerian team should beat Guinea with a 3-0 scoreline.
Unfortunately, it was a disaster for the Nigerian side as the Guinean side scored an early goal in the 14th minute.
Unlike in the warmup game on Sunday where coach Jose Peseiro used a very strong team, the Portuguese tactician used a lesser side against the Guinea national team who are also participating in the AFCON 2023.
Stanley Nwabali, the goalkeeper for Chippa United started the game ahead of the team’s first-choice goalkeeper, Francis Uzoho.
Zaidu, Ekong, Osayi-Samuel, and Omeruo, mounted the defense, Awaziem, Abdullahi, and Onyedika mounted the midfied, while Chukwueze, Moses Simon, and Umar Sadiq started in attack.
This selection seemed to be bad luck for the Super Eagles as they couldn’t mount a comeback against the Guinean side.
To make matters worse for the Eagles, Simon had the chance to equalize in the 20th minute from the penalty spot but missed the spot-kick.
Nigeria failed to score in the first half after wasting a series of opportunities and that continued in the second half.
In the 62nd minute, the worst happened to the Super Eagles as Guinea scored the match-winner to end the AFCON 2023 warmup match.
On January 9, the Super Eagles are expected to touchdown in Lagos and fly to Ivory Coast on January 10. They will start their AFCON 2023 campaign on January 14 against Equatorial Guinea.
