Nigeria vs Madagascar: Mikel may earn his 89th cap
Super Eagles’ captain, Mikel John Obi will be hitting a milestone in his international career if he is selected for the 2019 AFCON last group match against Madagascar at the Alexandria Stadium today.
The ex-Chelsea midfield maestro who was confined to the bench by coach Gernot Rohr when the the Eagles pipped Guinea 1-0 in last Wednesday would be making his 89th cap for the national team if gets to play any part in the game today. The Eagles’ deputy captain, Ahmed Musa is not left out of the historic match as he too will be making his 81st appearance for the national team.
Meanwhile, Nigeria will, for the first time, emerge from an Africa Cup of Nations group phase with an immaculate record if the Super Eagles does not concede against the Barea of Madagascar at the Alexandria Stadium today.
One-goal wins over Burundi and Guinea at the same venue in earlier days means the three-time champions have booked a ticket in the Round of 16, but history beckons for a first-ever clean sheet in group phase account since their first appearance at the finals in 1963.
The closest the Eagles have come to a clean sheet in group phase was 13 years ago – also in Egypt – when they defeated Ghana and Zimbabwe 1-0 and 2-0 respectively but conceded one goal in a 2-1 defeat of Senegal in their third match in Port Said.
So much is riding on today’s encounter that any expectations of a ‘soft’ session in Egypt’s second city will go up in smoke from the first blast of the referee’s whistle.
Debutants Madagascar’s 2-2 draw with Guinea in their first match and 1-0 win over Burundi on Thursday mean they now have a place in the Round of 16, but they are bound to go full throttle against group leaders Nigeria having never scored a goal against the Super Eagles in four previous encounters.