Home Eagles battle Benin Squirrels for WAFU Cup final spot

Nigeria’s home-based Super Eagles will face Benin Republic in the semi-final of the 2017 West Africa Football Union (WAFU) Cup of Nations today (Thursday).

The Eagles finished second place to hosts Ghana in group A to advance to the last four of the regional tournament.

And for a ticket to the final, they are set to battle Benin Republic, who finished first place in Group B after securing a 2-1 win against Niger Republic in their final group game on Tuesday.

The Beninoise are a familiar foe to the Nigerian men, who eliminated them 2-1 on aggregate in the qualifiers for the 2018 Africa Nations Championship (CHAN).

Nigeria head coach, Salisu Yusuf, has warned his team to take every chance they get in order to scale through to the final.

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“Against Ghana we took our chances and we won (2-0). Against Benin we must do the same,” Salisu told reporters in Ghana.

“In the first half we couldn’t score. In the second half, our first two chances we scored the goals and we still missed some two chances.

“The game is all about taking your chances and doing the right things at the right time and you can win the game.”

The other semifinal tie will be between Ghana and Niger Republic also on Thursday.

The winners from the two semifinal ties will meet in the final on Sunday, while the losers will play in the third-place playoff on Saturday.

 

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