By Arinze Ude.
Stephen Keshi led Super Eagles will start their quest for a third continential trophy when they lock horns with Burkina Faso at the Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit on Monday by 19:00 (Nigerian Time).
Super Eagles captain and most capped player, Joseph Yobo will equal Kanu Nwankwo’s record of 6 AFCON tournaments, when he leads his team mates out on Monday.
The former Marseille and Everton man made his AFCON debut in 2002 and has been an important figure in the side ever since.
Victor Moses is also expected to make his AFCON debut after recovering from a knock. The Chelsea winger is expected to start alongside Ikechukwu Uche and Ahmed Musa in a 3-man attack.
The Super Eagles have won the Cup of Nations just twice but are famous for their record as third-place finishers, beating Tunisia, Cameroon, Senegal, Algeria, and Mali (twice) in the third-place play-off matches.
Nigeria failed to qualify for last year’s edition and they were less than impressive in the warm up games against Catalonia, Cape Verde, Sparta Rotterdam and Farense prior to the start of this tournament.
Burkina Faso haven’t won a match in 17 attempts at AFCON but the Nigerians know better than to underestimate their opponents.
The Burkinabes failed to win or record a single point at last year’s edition, bowing out in the first round. Their best ever finish at AFCON was 4th on home soil 15 years ago.
Their star player is Rennes midfielder, Jonathan Pitroipa, and he is expected to be a thorn in Eagles’ flesh. Marseille’s Kabore is penciled down for a midfield tussle with John Obi Mikel.
The Burkinabes also welcome Aristide Bance to the team while his strike partner, Alain Traore faces a late fitness test as he recovers from a heel injury. The latter scored the dramatic stoppage time winner that saw them qualify for the 2013 Cup of Nations at the expense of Central African Republic.
PROBABLE LINE UPS
NIGERIA (4-3-3):
01 Enyeama – 22 Omeruo, 05 Ambrose, 02 Yobo, 03 Elderson – 04 Nwankwo, 10 Mikel, 13 Ogude – 07 Musa, 15 Uche, 11 Moses
BURKINA FASO (4-4-2):
01 Diakite – 03 H.Traore, 04 B.Kone, 7 Rouamba , 12 Panandetiguiri – 11 Pitroipa, 10 A. Traore, 18 Kabore, 05 Koffi – 09 Dagano, 15 A. Bancé
The other Group C game will see the defending champions, Chipolopolo of Zambia take on the Ethiopians, the former is bookmakers’ favourite to win the group.
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This article was first published on 21st January 2013
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Stephen Keshi led Super Eagles will start their quest for a third continential trophy when they lock horns with Burkina Faso at the Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit on Monday by 19:00 (Nigerian Time).
Super Eagles captain and most capped player, Joseph Yobo will equal Kanu Nwankwo’s record of 6 AFCON tournaments, when he leads his team mates out on Monday.
The former Marseille and Everton man made his AFCON debut in 2002 and has been an important figure in the side ever since.
Victor Moses is also expected to make his AFCON debut after recovering from a knock. The Chelsea winger is expected to start alongside Ikechukwu Uche and Ahmed Musa in a 3-man attack.
The Super Eagles have won the Cup of Nations just twice but are famous for their record as third-place finishers, beating Tunisia, Cameroon, Senegal, Algeria, and Mali (twice) in the third-place play-off matches.
Nigeria failed to qualify for last year’s edition and they were less than impressive in the warm up games against Catalonia, Cape Verde, Sparta Rotterdam and Farense prior to the start of this tournament.
Burkina Faso haven’t won a match in 17 attempts at AFCON but the Nigerians know better than to underestimate their opponents.
The Burkinabes failed to win or record a single point at last year’s edition, bowing out in the first round. Their best ever finish at AFCON was 4th on home soil 15 years ago.
Their star player is Rennes midfielder, Jonathan Pitroipa, and he is expected to be a thorn in Eagles’ flesh. Marseille’s Kabore is penciled down for a midfield tussle with John Obi Mikel.
The Burkinabes also welcome Aristide Bance to the team while his strike partner, Alain Traore faces a late fitness test as he recovers from a heel injury. The latter scored the dramatic stoppage time winner that saw them qualify for the 2013 Cup of Nations at the expense of Central African Republic.
PROBABLE LINE UPS
NIGERIA (4-3-3):
01 Enyeama – 22 Omeruo, 05 Ambrose, 02 Yobo, 03 Elderson – 04 Nwankwo, 10 Mikel, 13 Ogude – 07 Musa, 15 Uche, 11 Moses
BURKINA FASO (4-4-2):
01 Diakite – 03 H.Traore, 04 B.Kone, 7 Rouamba , 12 Panandetiguiri – 11 Pitroipa, 10 A. Traore, 18 Kabore, 05 Koffi – 09 Dagano, 15 A. Bancé
The other Group C game will see the defending champions, Chipolopolo of Zambia take on the Ethiopians, the former is bookmakers’ favourite to win the group.
