BEVERLY HILLS, March 26, (THEWILL) –Â Nigeria’s senior men’s national football team, the Super Eagles arrived in Porto Novo by boat, which they boarded from the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) Boat Jetty – Five Cowries Terminal in Ikoyi.
Upon landing at the Cotonou Port, the excited team members (travelling by boat for the first time for a sporting engagement) had a mandatory COVID-19 test done at the point of entry.
That done, they were settled in and lodged at the Golden Tulip Le Diplomat Hotel in Cotonou, from where they will continue their preparations for their Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying fixture against Benin on Saturday, March 27.
Before the game proper, the team will acclimatise to the playing environment with a training session at the Charles de Gaulle Stadium this evening. That will help them perfect strategies for the crucial match against the Squirrels which they began in training sessions at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, in Lagos.
The Super Eagles of Nigeria are currently leading their qualifying Group L with eight points after five matches. A point in their Saturday fixture against the Squirrels will be enough to secure their qualification for the 2022 AFCON in Cameroon and a berth in the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup.
When these two sides met at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in November 2019 for their first qualifying fixture, Nigeria beat Benin with goals from Napoli’s Victor Osimhen and Samuel Kalu of Bordeaux completing a 2-1 comeback win after the Squirrels had opened the scoring with a Stephane Sessegnon goal in the third minute.
Gernot Rohr understands the challenge the Squirrels pose and has said they will not be content with getting a point but go all out for an outright victory. The match kicks off at 5pm local time.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
