Two bruised egos in the form of
Nigeria's Super Eagles and the
defending champions Zambia will
clash on Friday at the Mbombela
Stadium in Nelspruit, and the
likelihood is that whoever loses the match may be on the way
out of the 2013 Africa Cup of
Nations. Nigeria had to share the
spoils with the Burkina Faso as
they surrendered their 1-0 lead
very deep into added time in the second half, while the Zambians
could not get one over a plucky
10-man Ethiopian team. Stephen Keshi will be buoyed by
the fact that his team almost
always had the game against
Burkina Faso under control until
Ambrose Efe's sending off while
Herve Renard will have told his boys that they will have to up
the ante to get a positive result
against Nigeria. The problem for Zambia is that
they do not score many goals,
and for Nigeria, chances created
have to be taken. Kenneth Omeruo will start at
right back for the Eagles while
Renaud may decide to use two
strikers upfront with Collins
Mbesuma and Emmanuel Mayuka
the likely candidates. The Super Eagles were the last
team to beat the Chipolopolo in
the Nations Cup, back in the 2010
edition, when Nigeria won on
penalties in the quarter-finals.
The Eagles also beat the Zambians in a friendly in 2011 as the
Chipolopolo were preparing for
the 2012 Nations Cup, which they
eventually won. So the die is cast and the team
which can score two goals in this
encounter will likely carry the
day.