Super Eagles face Covid-19 tests ahead of Sierra Leone clash

Nigeria senior national team players will be tested for Covid-19 before taking on Sierra Leone in Friday’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifier.

The three-time African champions face the Leone Stars, who are in dire need of a win in order to revive their Cameroon 2022 ambitions.

Before locking horns with the West Africans, however, players and coaches of the Super Eagles will be subjected to the assessment on Wednesday afternoon.

Few hours after that, Gernot Rohr’s side will have their second training session by 17:00 (West African Time) at the newly renovated Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium.

Having faced reigning African champions Algeria and Tunisia in friendly games, Rohr’s men are in good shape to face the Leone Stars.

Their last appearance at Afcon was in Egypt 2019 where they finished third having recorded a 1-0 win over the Carthage Eagles in the bronze medal match.

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John Keister’s men sit at the base of Group L with one point following a stuttering start to the qualifying campaign, having recorded a draw against Lesotho and defeat to Benin Republic.

Sierra Leone are hoping to make their third appearance in the biennial African football showpiece. They last featured at the 1996 edition staged in South Africa. There, they crashed out of the group stage after one win and two defeats.

The reverse fixture takes place at the National Stadium Freetown on Tuesday, November 17 with victory for Nigeria guaranteeing them a place in the 2022 Afcon.

The 33rd edition of the biennial tournament was due to begin in Cameroon on January 9, 2021, but has now been pushed to January 2022 due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic across the continent.