Captain of the Burundi national team, Saido Berahino has cautioned Nigeria to be ready for a tough battle when they take to the pitch today in their 2019 Afcon opening clash.
The match today in Alexandria will be the first time the two nations will clash in a major tournament.
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Burundi sealed qualification for their debut Afcon competition without getting defeated. They secured two victories and four draws to finish second behind Mali in Group C.
Former West Brom player, Saido Berahino who will lead the team has now come to say that he and his fellow players will not give it all against Nigeria.
His words, “They don’t know us, they probably don’t watch our games, so that releases the pressure on us so we can play without any fear at all,”
“That’s what we managed to show in the qualification and that’s why we went through the whole qualification unbeaten.
“We are not going to let them walk all over us; we will stand up like we did qualifying and let the best team win.”
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“The day we qualified, you could see for the first time in the history of Burundi people united together, celebrating together, the whole town was going crazy for two or three days, and you could see the smile on their faces,”
“Being able to captain Burundi for the first time in such a tournament is a massive honour for me… there is a lot on my shoulders but with the experience I’ve gained in Europe, I’m sure I can pass it down to my teammates.”
This article was most recently revised and updated 4 years ago
