Nigeria prepare for World Cup eliminator with DRC test
Nigeria are drawn against the winners of first round clash between Swaziland and Djibouti, while DRC are pitched against either Seychelles or Burundi.
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) have been quick to assure the major falling-out between coach Sunday Oliseh and Vincent Enyeama over the Eagles captaincy will not affect the team’s performance Thursday night.
“I’m happy there is absolute peace in the camp and the players and coaches are thinking of nothing other than the two matches against DR Congo and Cameroon,” said NFF president Amaju Pinnick.
“Whatever misunderstanding that happened on Tuesday night has been peacefully resolved and everyone’s forgotten about it.
“Anywhere you have a group of people there is propensity for misunderstanding now and again. The key thing is the immediacy of resolution and the maturity to forgive and forget.”
Chelsea loanee Victor Moses and Turkey-based Kenneth Omeruo have withdrawn from the game on account of injury.
The six players from the domestic league could not travel out to Belgium before Wednesday as they were yet to be issued visas to Europe.
“It has been a hectic build-up as a result of the visa hitch and we have had to multi task, doubling our shift,” said Oliseh
“But I am very impressed with the attitude in the camp with players coming as early as Sunday night.”
Oliseh has quickly swung into action by handing out late call-ups for three Europe-based players – Wilfred Ndidi (Genk), Kingsley Madu (Slovakia) and goalkeeper Dele Alampasu (Portugal).
DRC, on the other hand, are in Belgium with a makeshift coaching crew after head coach Florent Ibenge and his assistant stayed back in Kinshasa so as to prepare the country’s team for a CHAN qualifier.
Star striker Dieumerci Mbokani, who is on loan at EPL side Norwich City, was not called up for this fixture.
The last time Nigeria met DRC was on March 3, 2010, in Abuja and the Eagles beat the Leopards 5-2 in a friendly.
Osas Idehen scored a brace. Peter Utaka, Obinna Nsofor and Chinedu Ezimora scored a goal each.
Nigeria defeated the same team in the quarterfinals of AFCON at Senegal 1992 and AFCON 1994 with late Rasheed Yekini among the goals.
Both nations clashed in March 1976, and Eagles stunned the reigning African champions 4-2 in the group phase in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia.
This friendly will be a tough one as DRC have won the Africa Cup of Nations twice in 1968 and 1974 and showed at this year’s AFCON in Equatorial Guinea they are gradually making their way back to the top bracket after they finished third.
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