28th October, 2024
As the road to Morocco intensifies, Super Eagles’ head coach Augustine Eguavoen has his sights set on booking a spot in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations early in the qualification round. Nigeria is currently leading Group D with 4 points from two games and will face Libya in their third and fourth games of the AFCON 2025 qualifiers. On the other hand, Libya is sitting at the bottom of their group with only a single point.
Nigeria recorded a strong start in their 2025 AFCON qualifiers campaign with an outstanding 3-0 victory over Benin followed by a goalless draw against Rwanda. The Super Eagles hope to continue with their fine start to keep their AFCON qualification bid on track and a win against the Mediterranean Knights in the next two games can guarantee that. So, what can Nigerian football fans expect from the Super Eagles in the 2025 AFCON qualifiers?
Nigeria confident they will beat Libya
With a star-studded squad, the Super Eagles are confident they will emerge victorious on matchday three and four against the Mediterranean Knights. Coach Augustine Eguavoaen’s men are keen to avoid missing out on the 2025 AFCON tournament like they did in 2017 and 2015. However, AFCON betting experts on Cheeky Punter believe they will comfortably win their first-leg match against Libya on Friday 11th October.
Nigeria will host the Mediterranean Knights at the Akpabio Stadium on Matchday 3, meeting for the first time since 2018. During their last encounter in the AFCON qualifiers, the Super Eagles beat Libya 3-2, and they will hope to record better results in this match. However, Nigeria will play this game without defender Olisah Ndah and Galatasaray’s striker Victor Osimhen.
With Olisah and Osimhen ruled out of this game, Bayer Leverkusen star Victor Boniface will lead Nigeria’s attack alongside Moses Slmon and Ademola Lookman. Their potent forward line is expected to record multiple goals in this match, although Libya hopes to record a strong defensive performance and exploit any errors that the Super Eagles might make to counter.
Can Libya stop Nigeria at home in their second-leg fixture?
After enduring a tough start in the 2025 AFCON qualifiers, Libya will hope to pull off a surprise victory at the Tripoli International Stadium on Tuesday 15th October. As such, the Super Eagles need to be cautious against the quick and agile Libyan players who are looking to end their 12-year absence in the AFCON tournament. The Libyan side will be looking to leverage their pace in this fixture, hoping to catch the Super Eagles with their quick transitions.
While Nigeria has a stellar winning record against Libya after winning their last four matches, they will need to be careful to avoid falling behind the Mediterranean Knights early in the game. That’s because Nigeria has found it difficult to bounce back after falling behind, so they will need to be clinical with their scoring surge. However, Libya has a chance to surprise them like they did with Cameroon last year, although they will still have the chance to record more points against Benin and Rwanda.