Garba Lawal Warns Eagles Against Another Upset Versus S’Leone

AFCON 2023 QUALIFIER 

Kunle Adewale

Former Super Eagles player, Garba Lawal, has warned the Super Eagles not to allow another upset against Nigeria as they take on Leone Stars of Sierra Leone in a 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on Sunday.

Minnow Central Africa Republic (CAR) in 2021 invaded Lagos in a 2022 World Cup qualifier and handed Nigeria a shocking 1-0 defeat to lay the foundation for the non-qualification of the the Super Eagles for Qatar 2022.

This Sunday, Nigeria will visit the Samuel Kanyon Doe Stadium in Monrovia, Liberia, to play Sierra Leone. A win will guarantee Eagles qualification for Côte d’Ivoire 2023 to be played next January with a game to spare.

Sierra Leone currently lacks a CAF-approved standard stadium.

In a BrilaFM Lagos interview yesterday, Lawal who was one of Nigeria’s standout players at the 1998 edition of the FIFA World Cup in France warned that the attitude to the remaining games in the qualifiers must be positive. 

“In football, what matters is the victory. Nobody remembers whether you played good football or not. What matters is the three points on offer,” Lawal said. 

“The Super Eagles must not give room for complacency. It’s going to be 50/50 and it’s not going to be an easy game for the team. We must not allow another upset from a supposedly weaker teams.

“They (Super Eagles players) have to be organised, that will make the job easy for the coaches because the philosophy and methodology has to be the same.”

The Eagles are having closed doors training sessions at the Mobolaji Johnson Stadium, Lagos before their trip to Monrovia. 

Recently, the Leone Stars have proven to be formidable opponents for the Super Eagles.

In a 2021 AFCON qualifier held at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin City in November 2020, Sierra Leone remarkably salvaged a 4-4 draw after trailing 4-0. Four days later, in Freetown, they held Nigeria to a goalless draw.

In their first encounter of the current series at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja last year, Sierra Leone took an early lead before the Super Eagles rallied round with goals from Alex Iwobi and Victor Osimhen to secure a 2-1 victory.

Meanwhile, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has designated Sudanese referee Mahmood Ali Ismail as the center referee for match between Sierra Leone and the Super Eagles of Nigeria. 

Ismail will be joined by his compatriot Mohammed Abdallah Ibrahim as assistant referee one and Djiboutian official Liban Abdourazak Ahmed as assistant referee two.

Mohamed Diraneh Guedi, also from Djibouti, will be the fourth official. Bakary Jammeh from Gambia will oversee the match as the match commissioner, while Kokou Djaoupe from Togo will be the referee assessor.

Nigerian has accumulated nine points from four matches and will secure one of the two qualification spots if they manage to draw against the Leone Stars, who currently sit in third place with five point.