By Seyifunmi Odunuga
Nigeria’s Spartan Eagles will face Ghana in the quarterfinals of the 2021 Minifootball Africa Cup of Nations on Thursday.
Nigeria qualified for the quarterfinals with four points. The Spartan Eagles drew 0-0 with Libya in the competition opener, lost 2-3 to Senegal before their hard-fought 3-2 win over Zambia in the last group match.
Ghana, on the other hand, booked a place in the last eight after winning two games and drew one. Ghana drew 3-3 with Burkina Faso in their first group game before beating the title holders, Cote d’Ivoire 3-1 and humiliated Somalia 7-1 in the last group game.
Ghana are the first team to score seven goals in a match while Dennis Appiah is the only player to score four goals in a game.
Meanwhile, the head coach of the Nigeria Minifootball national team, Fabian Edaba is optimistic that his boys are well motivated to beat the Ghanaian national team today, urging Nigerians not to relent in supporting the team. He said the team continues to get better as they progress in the competition.
“I am optimistic that Nigeria will defeat Ghana in Thursday’s quarter-final match because the players are well motivated to achieve that. They know what is at stake and will put everything to pick the semifinal ticket.
“I urge all Nigerians to continue praying and supporting the team. Spartan Eagles started on a not-too-impressive note but we are getting better as we play more games.
The first quarter-finals match is scheduled for the Ilaji Minifootball pitch, Ibadan at 3pm.
2nd African Mini-football Nations cup Quarter Finals fixtures:
Nigeria vs Ghana- 3pm
Libya vs Burkina Faso- 5pm
Egypt vs Zambia – 7pm
Senegal vs Ivory coast- 9pm.
All the quarter-final matches are scheduled to hold at the Ilaji Minifootball pitch.
