Afcon 2023: E’Guinea’s coach optimistic they will clip Eagles win as keeper promises to stop Osimhen

Jan 14, 2024 - 07:44

Guinea coach Juan Obiang says his side is grappling with an injury crisis similar to that of the Nigerian national team, but insists they are prepared to battle the three-time African champions at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan on Sunday.

Nigerian stars Victor Boniface, Wilfred Ndidi, and Sadiq Umar withdrew from the 25-man squad just days before the AFCON tournament, but while acknowledging the stature of the Super Eagles as a formidable team, Obiang expressed confidence in their ability to field suitable replacements for the players absent from their Group A opening tie against Nigeria.

“We also have key players missing from our team. I know Nigeria is a big team. But if players are missing, I feel there are replacements as well. So, this is not an issue for them. We are aware of their potential and Nigeria’s potential, and we also have our potential. Some key players did not make it to Abidjan,” Obiang stated at the pre-match press conference on Saturday.

With Nigeria holding a historical advantage in their previous encounters, securing three wins, Micha anticipates a challenging match today.

“We have an ambition in this tournament, we want to win the tournament. We are aware of what to do, we want to give our best. We have a complicated game tomorrow (today), Nigeria is among the favourites and we have prepared ourselves to be at the highest level. They have players missing and they have replacements, we’re aware of Nigeria’s potential and we have our potential. We have prepared for the game,” Obiang added.

Owono also promised to stop Osimhen’s teammates Samuel Chukwueze, Kelechi Iheanacho, Ademola Lookman, Moses Simon, Terem Moffi, and Ahmed Musa.

Speaking at his pre-match press conference, Owono said, “I will do my best to stop Victor Osimhen and the other Super Eagles players to get a positive result in the first match.

“We were unknown in the last AFCON, and we did a great job. For this AFCON, the teams have more information about us. We train a lot, and we have prepared for the ramble.”