The Super Eagles of Nigeria and Leone Stars of Sierra Leone go up against each other in the penultimate round of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers on Sunday.
Both teams go into the game knowing their qualification fate can either be guaranteed or terminated.
Afrosport presents all that the key details of this crunch fixture.
Head to head
The Super Eagles and Leone Stars have met on 10 previous occasions with the former having the advantage with six wins while the latter has just one victory and the other occasions were draws.
Nigeria claimed victory in the reverse fixture in Abuja, winning 2-1 thanks to goals from Victor Osimhen and Alex Iwobi but will not forget the draws that occurred when both sides met during the 2021 AFCON qualifiers, especially the 4-4 draw in Benin City where the Eagles surrendered a four-goal first half lead.
Key Players to watch
Musa Noah Kamara (Sierra Leone)
The 22-year old has played in each of the Leone Stars’ last three games, finding the back of the net in the 2-2 draw at home to Guinea-Bissau last June.
Sierra Leone boss John Keister will be hoping Kamara puts on his goalscoring boots against the Super Eagles and keep their quest for qualification open.
Steven Caulker (Sierra Leone)
The Wigan Athletic defender is the highest profile name in the Sierra Leone team and the captain as well.
He has started and completed every game for the Leone Stars since making his debut during AFCON 2021 against Algeria.
Caulker’s wealth of experience playing in England and Turkey will come in handy as the Leone Stars hope to make it to back-to-back AFCON tournament.
Victor Osimhen (Nigeria)
The Napoli forward ended the season as top scorer (26 goals) and best striker in the Italian Serie A and comes into this game as the joint-top scorer in the AFCON 2023 qualifiers alongside Senegal and Bayern Munich star Sadio Mane on five goals.
While Peseiro is blessed with lots of attacking options, the goalscoring onus will still fall on Osimhen.
Alex Iwobi (Nigeria)
Iwobi has formed an integral part of the Super Eagles midfield and attack since making his debut for the national team in October 2015.
He was ever-present for Everton during the just-concluded Premier League season with his two goals and seven assists helping the Toffees avoid relegation for the second season in a row.
Iwobi’s influence will be needed one again as Nigeria tries to secure AFCON 2023 qualification.
When is the match and how to watch
The game between Sierra Leone and Nigeria will take place at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Stadium in Monrovia on Sunday at 5PM (West African Time).
The game will be shown live on Afrosport TV on Channel 730 on Free TV and on Vidivu TV.
It will also be broadcast on Afrosport affiliate partner channels across Nigeria.
