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WCQ: Cape Verde take aim at debilitated Nigeria

 

Cape Verde will go head to head with Nigeria in a 2022 Fifa World Cup qualification Group C match at the Estádio Municipal Adérito Sena in Mindelo, Cape Verde, on Tuesday..

Kick-off is at 6pm CAT (SA, GMT+2).

The Blue Sharks earned a point in their opening Group C match as they drew 1-1 with the Central African Republic (CAR) away on Wednesday.

They have now turned their attention to their encounter against the Super Eagles of Nigeria in what will be the second meeting between the two teams.

Bubista, the Cape Verde head coach, has made it known that his side will enter the field with a spirit of victory when they take on the Super Eagles.

“From the moment we finished the game in the Central African Republic, we started thinking about this game [against Nigeria],” Bubista told Expresso das Ilhas.

“Obviously we want to be as strong as possible to look for the three points.

“We are confident that we will be able to create opportunities against Nigeria. We always enter the field with a spirit of victory.”

Julio Tavares, who scored Cape Verde’s goal against CAR, will be determined to hit the back of the net once again when he faces the three-time African champions.

Meanwhile, Nigeria got off to a great start in their Group C campaign when they secured a comfortable 2-0 victory over Liberia at home on Friday.

Kelechi Iheanacho’s brace inspired the Super Eagles to a win over the Lone Star, but the Leicester City striker will be among the England-based stars who will miss the clash against Cape Verde.

This comes after the Premier League stated that they will not release players for international matches in the United Kingdom’s Covid-19 ‘red list’ countries, which include Cape Verde.

Gernot Rohr, the Nigeria head coach, says he is expecting a difficult match against the Blue Stars as they will be without some of their key players.

“We will be without nine players, including the goal scorer today Kelechi,” Rohr said.

“It is not easy to build a new team within days. We will also play on a synthetic pitch. This will be a challenge for both the staff and the players. It will be more difficult than against Liberia.”

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Last season’s Belgian Pro League Golden Boot winner, Paul Onuachu is expected to start against Cape Verde and the KRC Genk star has the ability to inspire Nigeria to a win.

The previous game between Cape Verde and Nigeria was on 9 January 2013.

The two teams played to a 0-0 draw in an international friendly match which was played at the Estádio Do Algarve in Portugal.

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