Nigeria coach Eric Chelle has warned the Super Eagles to expect a difficult encounter against Guinea-Bissau as they look to make it two wins from two in their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign.
The Super Eagles face the Djurtus in Bissau on Tuesday, with both sides carrying three points into the Group L encounter after winning their opening fixtures.
Guinea-Bissau impressed in their first game, defeating Tanzania 2-0, while Nigeria had to come from behind to beat Madagascar 2-1 in Uyo.
Chelle knows his side will face another demanding test away from home and has urged his players to remain focused on their own approach rather than the conditions surrounding the match.
“Guinea-Bissau, they have a great team and they have some players who play in Europe, in Africa, in Turkey, France. So, this is a big game,” Chelle said during his pre-match press conference.
“The most important thing for us is to try to go forward, is to try to keep this victory, but it will be not easy.
“So, we have to stay focused about our group and our state of mind, which is the most important thing.”
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The Super Eagles have also had to deal with questions over the playing surface ahead of the encounter, but Chelle was reluctant to make the pitch a major talking point.
“I don’t want to say the pitch is good or the pitch is bad, you work on the pitch,” he said.
“So, like I said, we just need to stay focused on our game project.”
Chelle reveals fitness concerns
Nigeria’s preparations have not been completely straightforward, with Chelle revealing that several players could face late fitness checks before the match.
George Ilenikhena, who scored Nigeria’s equaliser against Madagascar on his senior international debut, has a minor concern, while two other players have been affected by illness.
“We have to manage maybe George, he has a little something,” Chelle said.
“So, we have to manage the last training session. After that, we have two or three players, they are a little sick. So, we’ll see after the training session, before tomorrow.”
The comments add another layer of uncertainty to Chelle’s attacking selection, particularly with Victor Osimhen already unavailable for the September qualifiers because of injury.
Ilenikhena’s availability could therefore be significant as Nigeria consider their options in attack, with Tolu Arokodare and Taiwo Awoniyi among the other forwards in camp.
Moses Usor is also pushing for consideration after coming off the bench to score the winning goal against Madagascar.
Chelle admits Nigeria need to improve
Despite Nigeria securing all three points against Madagascar, Chelle acknowledged that the performance itself was not as convincing as the result suggested.
The coach pointed to the limited preparation time available during an international window, explaining that teams have little opportunity to work extensively on their tactical plans before competitive matches.
“We didn’t have some training sessions to work a lot, you know. This is the problem of this kind of FIFA window,” he said.
“You have only one or two training sessions to prepare something.
“So, after that, you have only one or two training sessions to recover and you have to travel.”
Chelle nevertheless believes the statistics from the Madagascar match showed that Nigeria deserved their victory.
The Super Eagles fell behind to Ehsan Kari’s 16th-minute goal before Ilenikhena equalised in stoppage time and Usor completed the comeback in the second half.
“If you watch, because we watched the last game, we analysed this game, and if you see the statistics, you can say this victory, we deserve this victory,” Chelle said.
“But the movie of the game, it was not very, very good, like I said.”
Chelle insists his concern was not whether Nigeria deserved the points, but the manner in which they allowed Madagascar to make the opening stages difficult.
“We conceded the first goal and the game was not easy for us,” he added.
“That is why I spoke like this.”
Guinea-Bissau bring confidence into clash
The Djurtus will enter Tuesday’s match with their own confidence after their impressive opening victory over Tanzania.
Franculino Djú opened the scoring in the 33rd minute before Mama Baldé doubled the advantage early in the second half.
Baldé is already familiar to the Super Eagles, having scored Guinea-Bissau’s winner in their 1-0 victory over Nigeria in Abuja during the 2023 AFCON qualifiers.
Nigeria responded by winning the return fixture 1-0 in Bissau three days later, but Chelle’s latest comments underline the importance of respecting a side that has already shown it can trouble the Super Eagles.
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With both teams on three points, Tuesday’s encounter provides Nigeria with an opportunity to establish an early advantage in a group where Tanzania are already assured of qualification as co-hosts.
A victory would take the Super Eagles to six points from two matches and leave Chelle’s side with a strong platform ahead of the next round of fixtures in November.
