By Daily sports on March 26, 2021

Super Eagles captain Ahmed Musa and defenders, Leon Balogun and William Troost-Ekong, are confident they will claim maximum points when they battle Benin Republic on Saturday in Porto Novo, in a 2021 AFCON qualifier.

The Eagles top Group L on eight points and a draw against the Squirrels will be enough to hand them a slot at the rescheduled 2021 AFCON next year in Cameroon, but Musa and his teammates are confident of getting the maximum points against the highly inspired Benin squad, who last lost a match on home soil in 2013.

“We know the importance of this game, we know that if we get a draw, we have qualified for the AFCON, but we are going there for a win and I am confident we are going to get it.”

Defenders Troost-Ekong and Balogun insist that after the disappointing double-header stalemate against Sierra Leone last November, the squad will qualify for the AFCON in Porto Novo.

“We are here for this game; we have shaken off the disappointing results against Sierra Leone. We are top of the group and haven’t lost a game, so there is no reason to panic. We’re here to get a result. And I expect we win and book qualification for the AFCON there,” Troost-Ekong told The PUNCH.

“We are here to do a job. We should have qualified from the last game but we couldn’t, so we have to correct that. We are here to do a job with a certain squad, and this squad will get the job done,” Balogun told The PUNCH.

Midfielder Joe Aribo said, “It won’t be easy, but we have to go for the three points and I’m looking forward to it. We cannot underrate them because they are second on the table and are a good side, but we will give our best over there.

“No game is easy and we know that they’re going to come out fighting, they’re going to come out fast and hard but we need to be prepared for that and do the best that we can to get the result.”

Goalkeeper, Maduka Okoye, said, “It was good to have a clean sheet in my last two games at club level, but for Nigeria most importantly, we have to get a win, and a clean sheet to top it off will be perfect.”

•Text (excluding headline): The PUNCH. PHOTO: Super Eagles at Lagos State Government House on Thursday

Source Daily sports

Posted March 26, 2021

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