Super Eagles will play a friendly match against Guinea in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Monday as part of their preparations for the 2023 AFCON.
The Super Eagles have been in the UAE since January 2, preparing for the 34th edition of the 2023 AFCON which will take place in Ivory Coast from January 13 to February 11, 2024.
Guinea are one of the six 2023 AFCON teams camping in the Middle East in preparation for the tournament. Hence, they intend to use the opportunity to test their might against the Super Eagles.
Initially, there were plans for the Nigerian team to play pre-tournament games against Cape Verde and Burkina Faso in UAE but the games have been postponed and might no longer happen before the 2023 AFCON.
Hence, the game against Guinea is most likely to be Nigeria’s only pre-tournament game before leaving UAE on January 9 for Lagos and then flying to Abidjan in Ivory Coast on January 10.
As of Thursday, January 4, twenty-two players out of the 25 players have arrived in camp, and two other players Victor Osimhen and William Troost-Ekong were expected in camp on the said date.
At the time of writing, there were no reports concerning when Kelechi Iheanacho would join the Super Eagles’ 2023 AFCON squad as he is said not to be fully fit.
The Super Eagles, which have won three AFCON titles – 1980, 1994, and 2013 – are vying for the title for the 4th time. On January 14, they will take on Equatorial Guinea in their Group A opener. On January 18, they will take on the hosts, Ivory Coast, and end the group stage campaign against Guinea Bissau on January 22.
