The senior national team of Nigeria will later today by 8pm take on Tunisia in the round of 16 at the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.

Ahead of the game, the team had their last training session yesterday and coach Austine Eguavoen gave a hint on how the team will be lined up for the game with Nigeria rated as the favourite to win.

Eguavoen maintained same lineup for the first two games but had to rest players for the third game after securing passage to the round of 16. He brought in as many as seven new players into the starting lineup.

Tipped to return to the lineup that won the games against Egypt and Sudan respectively, the coach is however yet to make a decision on starting Villarreal winger Samuel Chukwueze.

Chukwueze was subbed off in the first game , subbed off in the second game ay half time despite getting one of the three goals that handed Nigeria a 3-1. We gathered he was close to dropping out of the lineup for that game but some senior players intervened.

He was rested in the third game with Alex Iwobi taking his position on the right and per yesterday’s session, Eguavoen tried the Everton man in that role and will likely stick to him for the game.

A decision on his spot in the starting lineup will be made by 2pm today when the lineup will be made known to the players.

The senior national team of Nigeria have rounded up preparations for their round of 16 game against Tunisia at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Coach of the Nigerian team Austin Eguavoen had the players in a one hour plus training session where drills were perfected ahead of tomorrow’s game with all players in attendance.

One thing we noticed in during the preparation for the game was the lining up of Alex Iwobi in the number ten role as said by his uncle Austine Okocha after the game against Guinea-Bissau.

Okocha opined that the Everton man did a lot better when he played in the role in the final ten minute of the 2-0 win over Guinea-Bissau as opposed to how he started the game on the right side.

Iwobi also sounded in same line after the game and it appears it has now forced Eguavoen into handing him a chance in that role base on what the team did during today’s training session as exclusively gathered by this portal.

However it’s still unclear if he will start tomorrow’s game as the coach is yet to decide on his starting lineup for the game which will be played at 8pm Nigerian time.

Almeria of Spain striker Sadiq Umar has been told by coach of the Nigerian team Austine Eguavoen that he is an important player in his team and he believe he can score goals.

Sadiq scored in the Super Eagles final group game against Guinea-Bissau which ended in a 2-0 win for Nigeria to help them maintain their 100 percent record by winning all of their three group games.

Ahead of the round of 16 game against Tunisia, Eguavoen in the presser said the 24 year old has the ability to score goals as seen in his club and that makes him an important player in the team.

“Sadiq Umar has scored so many numbers of goals in his club side and I believe if he remain calm he will score more goals and get better. Sadiq Umar is an important part of the team”, he said.

He revealed he had talks with the player where he reassured him that he has faith in him and urged him to remain calm. “I had a long time talking to him in our training yesterday, I told him to remain calm and assured him of my believe in him”, he stated .

Coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Austine Eguavoen says the team plays as a collective unit instead of relying on individuals as they get set for the AFCON 2021 round of 16 game against Tunisia.

Eguavoen’s team has emerged as one of the best at the tournament by winning all of their group games with Moses Simon the shinning light of the team after three games.

Eguavoen was however quick to play down the impact of the Nantes forward while explaining how they intend to approach tomorrow’s game, and he also defended Sadiq Umar who hasn’t had the best of tournament but did score in the 2-0 win over Guinea-Bissau.

He said the Almeria forward shouldn’t be singled out for criticism as they play as a team and it’s same approach that they will use in tomorrow’s game against Tunisia.

“Thank God we have somebody who is very exciting. You mean Moses Simon like you also said the team is working as a team. We don’t want to focus on individual players. My answer to one of you on Sadiq is it’s a team game not an individual game”, the coach said at press match conference.

“So when you have the chance to score then score. When you have the chance to assist you should assist. So it’s same message to Simon, Ndidi, Ekong and to everyone. There is no special tactic or strategy. It’s the same way we approach the entire games”.

Leicester City and Nigeria international midfielder Wilfred Ndidi has given his opinion on the difference in approach between ex coach of Super Eagles Gernot Rohr and present coach Austine Eguavoen.

Eguavoen was handed the rein in interim capacity with the job of handling the team for the Africa Cup of Nations before handing over to Portuguese coach Jose Peseiro who was announced as the substantive coach of the Super Eagles. He will take over after the AFCON.

The Super Eagles under Eguavoen have so far impressed by winning all of their games at the tournament with a brand of football that many see as the best the team have played in recent years. It has also led to talks of handing the job to Eguavoen on a permanent base.

Ndidi who was a part of the team under Rohr was asked about the major difference in the team to the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations under the German and the one at the ongoing 2021 delayed Africa Cup of Nations.

“The difference between this team and the team from 2019 is that this coach gave us the push and freedom to express ourselves”, he said at the pre match conference ahead of tomorrow’s round of 16 game against Tunisia.

Tunisia midfielder Aïssa Bilal Laïdouni says the team will approach the round of 16 game against the senior national team of Nigeria at the Africa Cup of Nations with the seriousness it deserves.

He said they have learnt their lessons from the group stage where they manage to scrape through to the knock out by virtue of the fact that they finished among the best placed third teams after the group stage.

Their focus according to Laïdouni is to score more goals and despite the fact that Covid-19 has decimated their squad he backed the available players to rise up to the occasion.

“Qualifying as best losers doesn’t reduce our credibility. All the players available will come up to task. We are pushovers. Tomorrow will be the day of truth. The lessons learnt from the Gambian game is to focus and score more goals. We have already put that behind us and are focused on tomorrow’s game”, he said.

“Qualifying as best losers doesn’t reduce our credibility. All the players available will come up to task. We are pushovers. Tomorrow will be the day of truth”, he warned the Nigerian team.

The assistant coach of the senior national team of Tunisia Jalal Al-Qadri saya his team will approach their round of 16 game against Nigeria tomorrow at the Africa Cup of Nations tomorrow with high hopes.

Jalal Al-Qadri will be on the bench in place of head coach Mondher Kebaier who is not available for this game alongside over ten players after they all tested positive to Covid-19. Jalal is however confident that they can get a result against Nigeria.

He said although they will try to compete against the Nigerian team who won all their group games at the tournament despite the fact that they have to qualify as one of the third placed best team, he however admitted that they will need some elements of luck against the Super Eagles.

“We are confident and hope things go our way. We will find solutions to the Covid-19 problems. We won’t reveal our strategy. We hope luck will be on our side. Covid-19 has really affected our team. Our strength has been reduced and it can happen to any team in the world” he explained

“It is not only the players but technical staff as well. The technical crew is competent to ensure victory is on our side. Nigeria is a formidable side, Tunisia is a historic team in terms of African Football. Despite the obstacles we have a positive mindset”, further stated.

He went on to warn the Nigerian team not to underate his depleted team as they have players who can hurt the Super Eagles particularly two players who can provide the goals.

“We have skills which will enable us adopt to any situation. The Nigerian team must understand that they are meeting a competitive and battle ready Tunisian side. Football is unpredictable.

“For every game, there is a plan. We are not focusing on penalties. We are counting on Youssef Msakni and Ali Maâloul. They have played together and both scored. We have a lot that we are playing to unveil on Sunday”, he concluded

The senior national team of Nigeria will take on arch rivals Ghana in the play off for the 2022 World Cup to determine the team that will be at the tournament in Qatar.

In the draws made this afternoon, Nigeria drew Ghana and will play the first tie away from home before the return leg in Nigeria. Both games will be played in March.

Ghana were knocked out of the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations at the group stage and the FA responded by firing their coach Milovan Rajevac with a new coach set to be appointed for the World Cup playoff.

Nigeria meanwhile are through to the round of 16 of the tournament with interim coach Austine Eguavoen now tipped to land the job in full capacity despite the announcement by the NFF that Portuguese coach Jose Peseiro will take over after the tournament.

For now Eguavoen will likely lead Nigeria in the games as he has impressed with the way he has steered the team at the AFCON following the sacking of Gernot Rohr. The team won all their group stages games at the tournament with a style of football rated by many as the best they have seen in recent years.

The assistant coach of the senior national team of Tunisia Jalal Al-Qadri saya he will be counting on two players to do the damage when they take on Nigeria in the round of 16 at the Africa Cup of Nations tomorrow.

Jalal Al-Qadri will be on the bench in place of head coach Mondher Kebaier who is not available for this game alongside over ten players after they all tested positive to Covid-19. Jalal is however confident that they can get a result against Nigeria.

“We are confident and hope things go our way. We will find solutions to the Covid-19 problems. We won’t reveal our strategy. We hope luck will be on our side. Covid-19 has really affected our team. Our strength has been reduced and it can happen to any team in the world” he explained

“It is not only the players but technical staff as well. The technical crew is competent to ensure victory is on our side. Nigeria is a formidable side, Tunisia is a historic team in terms of African Football. Despite the obstacles we have a positive mindset”, further stated.

He went on to warn the Nigerian team not to underate his depleted team as they have players who can hurt the Super Eagles particularly two players who can provide the goals.

“We have skills which will enable us adopt to any situation. The Nigerian team must understand that they are meeting a competitive and battle ready Tunisian side. Football is unpredictable.

“For every game, there is a plan. We are not focusing on penalties. We are counting on Youssef Msakni and Ali Maâloul. They have played together and both scored. We have a lot that we are playing to unveil on Sunday”, he concluded

The coach of the senior national team Austine Eguavoen says the president of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Amaju Pinnick will no longer talk to players of the team during the half time break.

Pinnick had half time talks with the players in the 1-0 win over Egypt and also had same with the players during the 3-1 win over Sudan but not in their third and final game against Guinea-Bissau.

Ahead of tomorrow’s game against Tunisia in the round of 16, Eguavoen was asked if the timing of the speech by the NFF president is appropriate considering that’s when he has time to correct lapses noticed in the first half.

He said Pinnick only visisted the dressing room during the half time break of their game against Egypt which isn’t entirely true as the official NFF handle on Instagram had video of the coach addressing the players during the break against Sudan.

Eguavoen however said in tomorrow’s game he isn’t sure the same thing will happen. “We talked about timing and I am still talking about that. it’s our culture, motivation is good. Guests can have short discussion with the team at the restaurant and not inside the dressing room”, he said.

“Against Egypt was the only time when the NFF President and the Air Peace President came to see the team and it was five minutes. In the second and third games no one came to see the team. I don’t think this will happen tomorrow”, he concluded.