Barring a last minute change of mind head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Jose Peseiro will hand a first AFCON appearance to four players, when they take on Equatorial Guinea in their first game at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Peseiro who is also leading the team to a major tournament for the first time will be hoping to get the team off to a winning start after the host of the tournament Ivory Coast picked up a 2-0 win over Guinea Bissau yesterday.
In defence, we can exclusively report that the duo of Calvin Bassey and Bruno Onyemaechi will get their AFCON baptism by 3pm as they will are both in the back four.
Alhassan Yusuf was the surprise inclusion in the midfield not just because he has been picked to start but the fact that he was favored ahead of Alex Iwobi, who is one of the senior players in the team.
Yusuf who was a replacement for the injured Wilfred Ndidi blew the coaches away with his strong performances in training, making it a no brainier to hand him a start ahead of the Fulham midfielder.
He will be in the midfield alongside Raphael Onyedika another player who will be making his AFCON debut from the start. In attack Ademola Lookman will be on from the start likely on the right with Samuel Chukwueze not entirely fit to start.
The rest of the starting lineup will be made known by the official handle of the team at least an hour before the game.
Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman
