By Albert Akota
The delegation of Senior National Team of Seychelles, known as Pirates, has landed in Nigeria for Friday’s 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match against the Super Eagles.
Group leaders Nigeria have already secured their place in the finals and will be in the pot for the draw on Friday, 12th April at CAF’s headquarters in Cairo, while the Pirates were long eliminated and have only come to fulfill the fixture.
A 29 –man delegation of the Pirates arrived Abuja aboard an Ethiopian Airline flight yesterday afternoon, and would be flow to Asaba today.
The Eagles are also at the same time preparing for a prestige friendly game against the Pharaohs of Egypt, who are seven –time champions and record winners of the continent’s most prestigious football diadem.
Already Eagle’s camp is bubbling as players invited for Friday’s 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match against the Pirates of Seychelles and friendly match against Egypt breezed in.
China-based Odion Ighalo and midfielders Alex Iwobi and Semi Ajayi were among the first arrivals in the Super Eagles’ camp in Asaba according to a statement from the Nigeria Football Federation spokesperson, Ademola Olajire.
Already, the Super Eagles have qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations holding in Egypt this summer, and the encounter against the Pirates is hardly more than an academic affair. But the Eagles have spoken of a need to end the qualification series on a high and maintain reputation while using the game to kick –start preparations for the AFCON.
They take on the Pirates at the Stephen Keshi Stadium as from 4 p.m. on Friday.
Goalkeepers Francis Uzoho, Ikechukwu Ezenwa and Daniel Akpeyi are all in town, as well as home-based professionals Ikouwem Utin, Ndifreke Effiong and Valentine Ozornwafor.
Technical Adviser Gernot Rohr called up 23 players for the two matches, with Ikouwem Utin and Effiong leaping onto the list as a result of injuries to Samuel Kalu and Ola Aina.
