On Tuesday, the Nigerian national team, featuring 22 players, commenced their initial training session at the well-known Stade Felix Houphouet-Boigny, as they prepared for an important Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match against their neighboring country, Benin Republic, scheduled for Thursday. The only player anticipated to join from Spain was forward Sadiq Umar.
“We have 22 players, with only one person to join the team in the early hours of Wednesday. It has been a particularly great atmosphere here in Abidjan, and we are all very positive going into the first training session ahead of the match,” Coach Augustine Eguavoen told thenff.com on Tuesday.
A total of eleven players, including Captain and AFCON Man of the Competition William Ekong, reigning Africa Player of the Year Victor Osimhen, and his potential successor Ademola Lookman, arrived simultaneously on Tuesday morning. They were joined by defenders Bright Osayi-Samuel, Olaoluwa Aina, Victor Collins, and Calvin Bassey, as well as midfielders Alex Iwobi and Alhassan Yusuf Abdullahi, and Germany-based forward Victor Boniface. South Africa-based goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali later joined the group.
Prior to this, goalkeeper Maduka Okoye, midfielder Wilfred Ndidi, and forward Kelechi Iheanacho had arrived to complement the eight players who were already in camp on Monday. This group included goalkeeper Amas Obasogie, defenders Gabriel Osho and Bruno Onyemaechi, midfielders Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, Frank Onyeka, and Raphael Onyedika, along with forwards Moses Simon and Samuel Chukwueze.
With an impressive tally of 10 points from four matches, having scored seven goals without conceding, the Eagles currently lead Group D. They will enter the Stade Felix Houphouet-Boigny with heightened confidence, a venue where they previously thwarted the ambitions of Guinea Bissau, Cameroon, and Angola during the 34th Africa Cup of Nations finals held in Cote d’Ivoire earlier this year.
This location also witnessed their defeat by the Cheetahs, who overcame them 2-1 in a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying match during the summer, despite the Eagles scoring first in that encounter.
“The stadium is a familiar one for us and we have good memories from the AFCON. We will rather focus on the positive results we have taken away from here and work hard for another good day in the office on Thursday.
“It is not going to be easy because the Beninoise are also chasing a ticket to the final tournament. However, our objective is clear: three points on the night,” Captain Ekong said on Tuesday.
Senegalese official Issa Sy, who officiated during the Super Eagles’ narrow 1-0 victory over Angola at the same venue in a quarter-final match of the Africa Cup of Nations finals, has been appointed by CAF as the referee for the upcoming match on Thursday, which is set to begin at 7 PM CIV time (8 PM Nigeria time).
He will be assisted by fellow Senegalese officials Djibril Camara (assistant 1), Nouha Bangoura (assistant 2), and El Hadji Amadou Sy (fourth official). The match commissioner will be Ivorian Rene Williams Sere, while Angolan Inacio Manuel Candido will serve as the referee assessor.
The Super Eagles require just one point from Thursday’s match to secure their place in the 35th AFCON, which is scheduled to take place in Morocco from December 21, 2025, to January 18, 2026.
