Line Ups:
Nigeria (4-4-2, right to left): Nwabali (GK) — Aina, Sanusi, Ekong, Ajayi, — Iwobi, Yusuf, Onyeka, Lookman — Simon, Osimhen.
Manager – J. Peseiro
Line Up! #SoarSuperEagles #LetsDoItAgain #TotalEnergiesAfcon2023 #NGAEQG pic.twitter.com/u0WLlTjgk6
— 🇳🇬 Super Eagles (@NGSuperEagles) January 14, 2024
Equatorial Guinea (4-5-1 right to left): Owono (GK) —Ndong, Akpo, Coco, Orozco, — Bikoro, Machin, Buyla, Ganet, Ivan Salvador — Nsue.
Manager – J. Micha
Nigeria vs Equatorial Guinea latest news
- Kick-off time: 2pm GMT, Alassane Ouattara Stadium
- Nigeria team news: Super Eagles hit by injury blows
- Equatorial Guinea team news: Nsue captains side
Victor Osimhen aiming to ‘write own legacy’ with AFCON glory
Nigeria’s raft of injuries up front – worsened by Sadiq Umar’s knee issue suffered in the disappointing 2-0 friendly defeat by Guinea in Abu Dhabi on Monday – only serve to heap more pressure on attacking talisman Victor Osimhen, who has 20 goals in just 27 caps for his country since 2017.
However, the 25-year-old seems utterly unfazed as he focuses on writing his legacy this month, helping to bring the glory days back to Nigeria after a 10-year wait for more AFCON success and missing the last World Cup.
Osimhen’s goals were instrumental in Napoli ending their 33-year run without a Serie A title last term, and a blockbuster transfer likely awaits in the summer.
“We want to win every match, every trophy available, to make Nigerians proud of us again,” Osimhen told Al Jazeera this week.
“I want to win the AFCON with my country and write my legacy. All the greats in Nigeria have a title to their name, and to be mentioned in that space, I must win it, too.”
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Equatorial Guinea team news
No real household names exist in this Equatorial Guinea squad, but captain Emilio Nsue will be familiar to English football fans after his previous spells with Middlesbrough and Birmingham.
Boss Juan Micha is a highly-rated coach who will have his side hard to beat and again eyeing upsets in a tough group.
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(AFP via Getty Images) Nigeria team news
Once again, Nigeria’s best-laid AFCON preparations have been disrupted by multiple injury setbacks, as in Cameroon in 2021.
The Super Eagles are without in-form Bayer Leverkusen forward Victor Boniface due to a groin injury that required surgery and is expected to keep him out for several months.
Leicester midfielder Wilfred Ndidi also missed the tournament through injury, along with Nottingham Forest forward Taiwo Awoniyi and now Real Sociedad striker Umar Sadiq, who was ruled out with a knee problem this week.
Terem Moffi, Alhassan Yusuf, and Paul Onuachu have all been drafted as late replacements, with the latter only arriving recently.
Leicester’s Kelechi Iheanacho has also been considered a doubt after injury, and his participation remains unclear.
(Getty Images) Where to watch Nigeria vs Equatorial Guinea
TV channel: In the UK, today’s game will be televised live on Sky Sports Mix and the Sky Sports Red Button, with coverage beginning at 1:55pm GMT.
Live stream: Sky Sports subscribers can also watch the match live online via the Sky Go app.
Welcome to Nigeria vs Equatorial Guinea live coverage
Hello and welcome to Standard Sport’s latest live coverage of the Africa Cup of Nations, with Nigeria beginning its campaign in Abidjan this afternoon.
The injury-hit Super Eagles will hope to get off to a winning start against Equatorial Guinea, who are playing at AFCON for only the fourth time in their history this year but have one fourth-place finish and two other quarter-final appearances already under their belts.
Though always among the traditional powerhouses of African football, three-time winners Nigeria have gone a decade without success in this competition now and were ousted in the last 16 in a tame fashion in Cameroon two years ago.
With a critical clash against hosts Ivory Coast – who opened with a 2-0 win over Guinea-Bissau last night – to come on Thursday evening, Jose Peseiro’s side cannot afford any slip-ups in Group A.
Kick-off at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium is at 2 pm GMT, so stay tuned for live updates plus all the latest team news from both camps.
