THE Super Eagles of Nigeria have promised to give the new sports minister John Enoh a proper welcome gift by beating Sao Tome and Principe in their Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match in Uyo on Sunday.
Captain William Troost-Ekong, speaking on behalf of his teammates, said today that the Super Eagles will go all out for a big win at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo in honour of Enoh, who was appointed recently by President Bola Tinubu.
According to the Nigeria Football Federation, Enoh was involved in a meeting with officials of the body as they agreed to an extension of the contract of Super Eagles head coach Jose Peseiro.
“Yes, we have already qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire, but we want to win this match for a number of reasons. We have a new Minister of Sports Development who has hit the ground running. It is good to welcome him with a great win,” Troost-Ekong said in Uyo.
“We also need to sustain a winning mentality ahead of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers starting in November. So, we are not going to be taking this game as a dead rubber or whatever people choose to call it. It is another important match as far as we’re concerned.”
Nigeria have already secured a spot in the 2023 AFCON billed for Cote d’Ivoire in January and February next year, with 12 points from five games.
Second-placed Guinea Bissau are two points behind and have also qualified but the Super Eagles need to beat Sao Tome and Principe to guarantee winning the group.
In their last outing in Uyo, the Super Eagles edged past Benin Republic 2-1 in a 2021 AFCON qualifier on November 13, 2019.
Meanwhile, Sao Tome and Principe’s delegation of players and officials arrived in Uyo today.
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