Eagles battle S’Leone for AFCON ticket, as Ekong optimistic about ‘redemption Tuesday’

The day (Tuesday) has finally come when the Super Eagles of Nigeria will again take on the Leone Stars of Sierra Leone in a matchday four encounter of the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers.

The Eagles were held to a 4-4 draw in their previous meeting in Benin last Friday as the visitors came from four goals down to earn a point.

The reverse fixture to be held at the Siaka Stevens stadium in Freetown has since been tagged ‘redemption Tuesday’ by Nigeria’s assistant Captain, Williams Troost-Ekong.

Ekong, in a pre-match press conference on Monday, said he is sure of victory if the Eagles could replicate their first-half performance in Benin, which saw then race to a 4-0 lead within 30 minutes.

”We are ready, we just finished a good practice session and everyone’s ready for the game tomorrow (Tuesday),” said Ekong.

Read Also: Nigeria to decide Gernot Rohr’s Super Eagles future after S’Leone clash —Minister

“We prepare like any other game with this team (Sierra Leone) we don’t under-estimate anyone and if we can just bring what we did in the first half of the last game and make sure we keep concentrated and see out the game, I think we have a good chance to do what we need to do.

“They (Nigerian fans) will see a team that is very hungry to get the win here. We want to qualify as soon as possible and it is up to us to do it tomorrow,” added the Watford defender.

The Eagles, who are top of the group L with seven points from three games, would successfully land a ticket to the Cameroon 2022 tournament if they secure victory in Freetown.

Nigeria Coach Gernot Rohr had also expressed optimism to clinch qualification this year so as to allow the team concentrate on the 2022 World Cup qualifiers which begins next year.

The game is billed to kick off 5:00p.m Nigeria time.

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