THE Super Eagles of Nigeria will play a friendly match against Guinea’s Syli Nationale in Abu Dhabi on Monday as part of their preparations for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, the Nigeria Football Federation confirmed tonight.
Meanwhile, hosts and Nigeria’s Group A rivals Cote d’Ivoire breezed past Sierra Leone in their own warm-up game today.
The other teams in Group A are Guinea-Bissau and Equatorial Guinea, and the Super Eagles are hoping the friendly against Guinea will give them an insight into their neighbours.
The friendly on Monday will be played at the Bani Yas Stadium, six days before the Super Eagles open their AFCON 2023 campaign against Equatorial Guinea in Abidjan.
The three-time African champions, seeking their fourth title 10 years after claiming their third in South Africa, will face hosts Cote d’Ivoire on January 18 and Guinea-Bissau four days later to round off the group phase.
Cote d’Ivoire underlined their desire to be triumphant hosts with a dominant display against fellow West Africans Sierra Leone tonight.
The Elephants trounced the Leone Stars 5-1, with former Barcelona star Frank Kessie and Nice forward Jeremie Boga among the scorers.
At their last meeting, the Super Eagles edged out Syli Nationale 1-0 in a group phase encounter at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.
Twenty-four of Nigeria’s 25-man squad are currently training in Abu Dhabi for AFCON 2023, with Leicester City forward Kelechi Iheanacho the only absentee as he is recovering from an injury and set to join the group in Lagos on Tuesday evening, ahead of their departure to Abidjan on Wednesday.
The Super Eagles and 23 other teams will be jostling for the most prestigious trophy in Africa from January 13 to February 11 across five Ivorian cities.
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