UYO – Nigeria’s Super Eagles have arrived in camp at the Le Meridien Hotel and Golf Resort, Uyo, ahead of the Nov. 19 AFCON qualifier against South Africa, its Media Officer, Ben Alaiya, said on Monday.
Speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Uyo, Alaiya said the team arrived with the squad that prosecuted last Saturday’s qualifier against Congo, who they defeated 2-0.
He, however, added that but for Hope Akpan, who sustained a shoulder injury in the Congo, all other team members trained on Sunday evening and would also train same time on Monday and Tuesday, for the crucial match with the South Africans.
Alaiya said that Head Coach Stephen Keshi had called up a fitting replacement for Akpan, whose injury, to the relief of team handlers, would not require an operation.
He said that the team expected the home fans to be on hand on Wednesday, to cheer their darling team to victory, just as they did when the team played a friendly with Ghana at the Ibom International Stadium on Nov. 7.
Alaiya assured the Super Eagles followers that the team would defeat the Bafana Bafana in Uyo, to pay back for their belief and give them hope that the African Champions would not miss out at the AFCON.
He said that the Bafana Bafana, who are currently topping the group ahead of Nigeria in the second position, are expected in Uyo on Monday, to be lodged in the same hotel as the Eagles, ahead of the encounter.
On their experience in the Congo, Alaiya said that the team went through a harrowing experience but because they had a mindset to brave the odds, the result was a sweet and timely relief.
He recalled that the experience was, however, the opposite of what Nigerians offered the Congolese when they met in the first leg in Calabar on Sept. 4.
Nigeria had lost that match 2-3. (NAN)
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