Super Eagles, Bafana renew rivalry in World Cup qualifiers

The football rivalry between Nigeria and South Africa will be reignited Friday night at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo as both teams step up their chase for qualification for the 2026 World Cup.

Coach Finidi George and the Super Eagles squad know nothing but victory will assuage the feelings of football-passionate Nigerians, who are still unhappy at their sluggish start to the campaign, with two points from a possible six in their opening two games.

Unfortunately, the Nigeria national team has not enjoyed the best preparations going into this crucial fixture as the team was hit by a string of late arrivals of players and outright withdrawal of some others due to injuries and a couple of other personal factors.

The absence of Africa Player of the Year, Victor Osimhen, due to injury, and injuries to defenders William Ekong (this year’s AFCON’s Man of the Competition), Kenneth Omeruo, Jamilu Collins and Zaidu Sanusi mean Head Coach Finidi George will have to show his tactical prowess to navigate past the AFCON bronze medallists.

Despite what looks like a troubled preparation, Super Eagles midfielder Wilfred Ndidi, who is leading the team at this time, says he and his colleagues know what is at stake and won’t be looking for excuses not to deliver on the needed results at this crucial period.

“Nobody needs to tell us we did not start the campaign well enough. The opportunity has arisen to take our fate in our hands and rise to strong contention in our pool. We will approach Friday’s encounter with the right mental attitude.” Ndidi told reporters on Thursday ahead of the game against South Africa.

Lethal Weapon

For many, the attacking options are the biggest weapon at the disposal of coach Finidi in what will be his first real test as the manager of the three-time African champions Nigeria.

The coach is most likely going to throw the experienced Kelechi Iheanacho and youngsters Victor Boniface and Ademola Lookman into the fore to get the goals early enough.

Lookman, who became only the sixth man in history to score a hat-trick in a European Cup final when he led Atalanta of Italy to victory in Dublin on 22 May, is in great form to continue where he left off after the Africa Cup of Nations, where he netted three crucial goals to steer Nigeria to a second-place finish.

He also netted a vital winner for the Eagles against Ghana in a friendly in Morocco three months ago, which helped Nigeria to a first triumph over Ghana in 18 years.

Boniface also had a fantastic season, winning the German League and Cup double with Bayer Leverkusen and reaching the Europa Cup final, where Lookman was the big obstacle.

Iheanacho and midfield enforcer Wilfred Ndidi are pumped up after helping their English club Leicester City back to the Premiership after one season in the Championship.

Dominant Eagles

The Eagles will enter the pitch on Friday night, recalling that South Africa have mostly been second best against them and that their last encounter, in the semi-final of the AFCON in Cote d’Ivoire, ended in a penalty shootout victory for Nigeria.

Bafana have, however, caused some stir on a few occasions that could give them the confidence of clipping the Eagle’s wings on Friday.

Incidentally, the only competitive loss Nigeria has suffered at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, which was opened ten years ago, was to the Bafana (0-2 defeat at the start of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations) on 10th June 2017, but the Eagles rallied in the campaign and eventually finished ahead of the Bafana to qualify for the finals in Egypt, where they also defeated the Bafana in the quarter-finals on the way to a third-place finish.

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The Bafana may also count as a triumph their 2-2 with the Eagles draw at the same venue on 19th November 2014, which prevented Nigeria from qualifying for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.

Currently, Rwanda and the Benin Republic are dictating the pace in Group C with four points each, a development that makes Friday’s tie billed to kick off at 8. p.m. even more important for South Africa and Nigeria as they are in the third and fourth positions, respectively in the group.