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.

Full List: Lookman, Ekong nominated for 2024 CAF men’s footballer of the year award

Ademola Lookman and William Troost Ekong have been nominated for the 2024 Confederation of African Football (CAF) men’s player of the year award.

The duo will battle Achraf Hakimi of Morocco, Simon Adingra of Cote d’Ivoire, and Serhou Guirassy of Guinea for the most coveted individual prize for male footballers on the continent.

Lookman was the standout performer in Atalanta’s UEFA Europa League triumph last season, netting a hat-trick in the final against Bayer Leverkusen.

The 27-year-old winger also made an impact for Nigeria, scoring three goals in seven appearances at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

At the 2023 AFCON, Troost-Ekong was named the tournament’s best player, scoring three goals and leading Nigeria to a second-place finish.

The CAF Awards ceremony will take place in Marrakech, Morocco, on December 16.

FULL LIST OF NOMINATIONS FOR 2024 CAF AWARD

Men’s national team of the year

• Angola
• Burkina Faso
• Ivory Coast
• DR Congo
• Morocco
• Mozambique
• Nigeria
• South Africa
• Sudan
• Uganda
• Men’s Young Player of the Year

• Carlos Baleba
• Karim Konaté
• Oumar Diakite
• Yankuba Minteh
• Abdul Aziz Issah
• Bilal El Khannouss
• Eliesse Ben Seghir
• El Hadji Malick Diouf
• Lamine Camara
• Amanallah Memmiche

Men’s Interclub Player of the Year

• Oussama Benbot
• Issoufou Dayo
• Ahmed Sayed ‘Zizo’
• Hussein El Shahat
• Mostafa Shobeir
• Abdul Aziz Issah
• John Antwi
• Amanallah Memmiche
• Yassine Meriah
• Ronwen Williams

Men’s Player of the Year

• Ademola Lookman
• Amine Gouiri
• Achraf Hakimi
• Chancel Mbemba
• Ronwen Williams
• Sehoru Guirassy
• Simon Adingra
• Soufinane Rahimi
• William Troost-Ekoong

Men’s Club of the Year

• Petro Luanda
• TP Mazembe
• Al Ahly
• Zamalek
• Dreams FC
• RS Berkane
• Mamelodi Sundowns
• Simba SC
• Yanga
• Esperance de Tunis

Coach of the Year

• Pedro Gonçalves (Angola)
• Brahima Traore (Burkina Faso)
• Emerse Faé (Côte d’Ivoire)
• José Gomes (Zamalek)
• Marcel Koller (Al Ahly)
• Chiquinho (Mozambique)
• Hugo Broos (South Africa)
• Florent Ibenge (Al Hilal)
• Kwesi Appiah (Sudan)