By Thompson Jacob

I don’t know if this publication would soil my relationship with renowned prophet, Primate Elijah Ayodele, or he may decide not to welcome me in his Lagos office again but I find it difficult to hold this feeling of shock I have based on my conversation with him on Sunday, 3^rd of November 2024.

I have always wanted to have a tete-a-tete with the prophet for interview purposes, I know how controversial his prophecies are and their economic impact on any news platform that is able to secure an exclusive interview with him; He is a very marketable individual and his prophecies are always relevant no matter how much they are.

After some time, I finally met him in Lagos on this fateful day, and among the things we discussed was the qualifier match between the Super Eagles of Nigeria and Benin Republic which held yesterday in Ivory Coast.

Primate Ayodele has several sports prophecies that have come to pass and sincerely, he is very popular in the sports sector. I will not forget so soon how he got global attention due to his prophetic advice to Nigeria’s forward, Victor Osimhen not to go to Chelsea FC during the transfer window when the player was on the verge of signing for the English side.

Primate Ayodele in a video that went viral globally warned that the player would not have a successful career if he signed for Chelsea. He advised him to go elsewhere apart from Chelsea FC.

During our discussion, I asked him about what he thinks about the match which was weeks away as at then and his response was direct and precise. He said “Nigeria must handle Benin Republic well, they want to push the match to a draw, Nigeria must be very careful with them”

I further inquired because I know Nigerian players are in form and won’t hesitate to defeat Benin Republic by a landslide, I asked if he was sure and he simply asked me to keep my fingers crossed.

However, yesterday was shocking to me as the Super Eagles of Nigeria struggled to even keep the match at a draw. If not for Osimhen’s header, Nigeria would have lost to Benin Republic.

I have been wondering since yesterday, how did Primate Ayodele see this coming? Even the players cannot say they envisaged such a tough time with Benin Republic, I’m still surprised at how he was able to accurately tell the outcome of the football match.

I am aware that Primate Ayodele isn’t one who loves to sing his praises and I sincerely apologize if this would be seen as an offence but man of God, I just couldn’t hold it.

Eagles battle Benin Republic for 2025 AFCON ticket

For the third time in six months, Nigeria and the Benin Republic will do battle on Thursday (today) in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, as they seek to seal their automatic spots for the 2025 AFCON, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

After beating the Cheetahs 3-0 during the first leg at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo, in September, the Super Eagles are visiting the Stade Felix Houphouet-Boigny, Ivory Coast—the Benin Republic’s adopted home ground—for the umpteenth time this year, needing a win to cement their automatic spot in Morocco 2025.

Ultimately, a draw is the bare minimum needed for Nigeria to advance, and the Super Eagles will also be playing to avoid a repeat of their 2-1 defeat to the Cheetahs at the same ground in June during the ill-fated 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

The Eagles are currently top of the qualifying Group D with 10 points, but their opponents and second-placed Benin Republic, who are four points behind them, need a win to remain in contention for the second automatic spot.

This knowledge will inform a feisty approach in the encounter that will be officiated by Senegalese referee Issa Sy.

Austin Eguavoen’s men have been almost perfect, winning three out of four matches without conceding a goal, but the Benin Republic, led by former Nigeria coach Genort Rohr, cannot afford any more slip-ups following the tumble in Kigali, as they could still be tossed if they lose their last two games, and Rwanda, on five points, earn a minimum of two points in their own final two. Even Libya, with only one point, can still leapfrog Benin if they beat Rwanda in Kigali, the Cheetahs are bumped by the Eagles, and the Knights rout the Cheetahs in North Africa on Monday.

Super Eagles defender and 2023 AFCON MVP, William Troost-Ekong, who missed the 2-1 defeat in June, said the Super Eagles are going above the bare minimum.

“The stadium is familiar territory,” Troost-Ekong said. “We’ve had good results here before, but we’re focused on avenging our last loss to Benin and securing the win.”

Rohr is probably aware of Nigeria’s recovery since the defeat in June, and he is wary of the Eagles’ threat.

“Repeating the feat of June is going to be complicated because Nigeria is now at full strength, but we believe in ourselves.

“While we would have preferred to have Cedric and Olivier with us, we are prepared to move forward without them,” the German gaffer told Foot Africa in an interview.

Unlike Rohr, coach Austin Eguavoen has the full complement of his squad to select from and qualify with a game to spare.

The gaffer is most likely to start with the team that squared up against the Mediterranean Knights of Libya in Uyo last month, meaning Captain William Ekong and Calvin Bassey at centre-back, with wing-backs Olaoluwa Aina and Bruno Onyemaechi just as Bright Osayi-Samuel has returned into that backline.

Wilfred Ndidi, Alex Iwobi, Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, Alhassan Yusuf Abdullahi, and a couple of defensive midfielders, Frank Onyeka and Raphael Onyedika, are available for the spaces in the middle, while Victor Osimhen, Ademola Lookman, Moses Simon, Victor Boniface, Samuel Chukwueze, Sadiq Umar, and Kelechi Iheanacho are in the selection pool for the fore.

The match will start at 8:00 pm Nigerian time.

Libya vs Nigeria: Confusion As CAF keeps parties in suspense

The Confederation of Africa Football is keeping all concerned in suspense after failing to announce its verdict on Wednesday as regards the botched AFCON qualifying Group A fixture scheduled for October 15 at Benina Martyrs Stadium.

It appears the football body has yet to arrive at a decision, with BeIN Sports revealing that the Disciplinary Committee entertained explanations from both parties on Wednesday via video conference, with Libya and Nigeria duly represented.

CAF had previously decided to cancel the Libya-Nigeria match after the Nigerian national team left Libya in protest at the diversion of its flight to Labraq Airport, where they were locked in for 18 hours with neither food nor water.

Nigeria had called on CAF to intervene to rescue them from detention inside Labraq Airport, according to the Nigerian side’s allegations.

CAF President, Patrice Motsepe, said that the incident was under investigation as the rules for receiving visiting teams are being reviewed, stressing that CAF will take strict decisions in this crisis and will not tolerate any deviation.