All roads lead to the iconic Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan as Nigeria vs Equatorial Guinea lock horns in a 2023 Africa Cup of Nations Group A match on Sunday.
While the group has the peculiarity of a combined total of five AFCON titles, only Nigeria (three titles) and Ivory Coast (two titles) contributed to this number.
Equatorial Guinea and Guinea-Bissau have not triumphed in the grandest stage of African football, but AFCON 2023 presents a chance for these two underachievers to mount a good challenge towards ending their AFCON trophy drought.
For the Super Eagles of Nigeria and the Nzalang Nacional of Equatorial Guinea, the opening match is one that has a great importance towards their chances of qualification. As such, much is at stake as these sides battle tooth and claws for early advantage in the group.
It's important to point out that Equatorial Guinea will be making just their fourth appearance in this competition, while for the Super Eagles of Nigeria, it will be their 21st time.
In this article, we will delve into showcasing the best combined 11 players selected from both teams, but first let's look deeper into both teams.
Nigeria
Three-time winners of the AFCON, Nigeria have been a force to reckon with in this competition, with several silver and bronze medals gotten from their previous 20 appearances. If there’s one nation that can’t wait for the AFCON 2023 to start, it is Nigeria.
However, the past two years have been tough for the Super Eagles after exiting AFCON 2021 in the round of 16, and failure to qualify for the 2022 World Cup.
But even as Nigeria have won this tournament three times and won 15 medals, there is a big feeling of underachievement because Nigerians want more from the Eagles.
Going into Ivory Coast, everyone has an eye out for the team because of the amount of attacking talents at their disposal, this makes an already arduous task even more difficult.
Nonetheless, a place in the round of 16 will be a good step in the right direction for the team towards a place in the finals.
Equatorial Guinea
As previously pointed out, Equatorial Guinea will be making their fourth AFCON appearance, but underestimate them at your own peril.
Being the only Spanish-speaking country on the continent, they've managed to make it out of the group stages on every occasion they’ve qualified, reaching the quarter-finals twice and the semi-final once.
In the 2021 edition, Nzalang Nacional ended Algeria’s 35-game unbeaten run while also beating Mali in the round of 16. They gave Senegal a run for their money in the last eight before their outster.
Drawn in what looks like a difficult group, don’t be shocked to see them upset the top two favourites, because they're here to compete.
Nigeria vs Equatorial Guinea combined 11 for AFCON 2023
Having analyzed both teams, let's pick out our best Starting XI in a 4-4-2 formation.
In goal, Francis Uzoho comes in.
The defense line will consist of one Equatorial Guinea player Basilio Ndong, and three Nigerian players Kenneth Omeruo, Calvin Bassey, and William Troost-Ekong.
While in the middle of the pack, Joe Aribo and Alex Iwobi will be joined by attacking midfielders Kelechi Iheanacho and Ademola Lookman, giving no room for the opposition players.
In attack, we'll go with Nigeria's duo of Victor Osimhen and Terem Moffi.
Nigeria vs Equatorial Guinea combined 11: Uzoho (GK); Ndong, Omeruo, Bassey, Troost-Ekong, Iheanacho, Aribo, Iwobi, Lookman, Osimhen, Moffi.
Subs: Owono, Coco, Ajayi, Obiang, Aina, Onyeka, Nsue, Machin, Sadiq.
This article was most recently revised and updated 1 year ago
