All eyes are now on the Super Eagles ahead of today’s game in Porto Novo, the Beninoise capital after their much talked-about waterways side show, Friday.
Gernot Rohr’s men took an unusual route to the West African neighbours for Saturday’s game as they journeyed to Porto Novo on speedboat via the Atlantic. The contingent was escorted by surveillance boat of the Nigerian Navy familiar with the Gulf of Guinea.
They arrived in the capital for their Africa Cup of Nations qualifying fixture against Benin on Saturday.
Following their arrival in the West African country, the three-time AFCON champions completed a mandatory Coronavirus test, before moving to the Golden Tulip Le Diplomat hotel, where they are camped.
The Super Eagles had left Lagos Friday morning through the Lagos State Waterways Authority boat jetty in Ikoyi with more than three vessels spotted conveying the team.
Nigeria have intensified preparations for the crucial match against the Squirrels with training sessions at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, where they will host Lesotho on Tuesday.
Gernot Rohr’s side currently sits atop of Group L with eight points after four matches, and victory over second-placed Benin would secure their qualification for the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.
The last time the two teams met was at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in November 2019 for their first qualifying fixture, with goals from Victor Osimhen and Samuel Kalu completing a 2-1 comeback win for the Super Eagles.
Although ahead of today’s match, the Benin coach Michel Dussuyer has admitted that it will be a tough contest against Nigeria, since his side are set to miss Stephane Sessegnon, who scored their only goal in Akwa Ibom in 2019.
“On Saturday, our ambition is to win. It will not be an easy task, but we have hopes,” Dussuyer said.
“Stephane Sessegnon is selected as a special guest. He is not on the list of 23. He is called for his leadership and will participate in training sessions.”
Rohr on his part, said he is also looking forward to a difficult clash in Porto Novo as he wants a “positive end” to their qualification campaign.
“We want to finish our qualification on a positive note, and the two matches against Benin and Lesotho are very important,” the German manager said.
“Of course, we know that Benin is difficult to beat after our last game in Uyo [Nigeria won 2-1] and we need at least a point against them to qualify for next year’s Afc.”
