The Nigerian U-23 team, which has been formally dubbed Dream Team V, will face its Guinean counterpart in a crucial Olympic Games qualifier scheduled for the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City on Saturday, March 26, 2011. Nigeria. The team has been in camp for over a week preparing under the tutelage of Coach Austin Eguaveon.
An important fact about this match is that the winner will have the opportunity to represent Africa in the 2012 Olympics football event.
The Nigerian team
The Nigerian team is made up of a mix of foreign and local players with vast experience at club level. A unique incident was prevented in which the senior national team coach clashed with the Olympic team coach, when three players who had previously been invited for Nigeria’s Africa Cup of Nations match with Ethiopia were finally recruited for the Olympic team . The players in question were:
- Ehiosun Ekigho (Warri Wolves FC, Nigeria)
- Nnamdi Oduamadi (AC Milan, Italy)
- Obiorah Nwankwo (Inter Milan, Italy)
Nigeria’s Olympic team got a big boost when the 15 invited professional players showed up at their camp in Benin. Pros invited include Lukman Haruna of France’s Monaco FC, Terna Suswarn of Portugal’s Victoria Setubal and striker Odion Ighalo, who captained the U-20 national team at the 1999 FIFA Youth World Cup in Egypt.
Equatorial Guinea national team
Not much is known about this team as they do not have an established star in their fold. This unknown factor has been a serious source of concern for the coaching staff of the Nigerian Olympic team.
Facts and Figures
- Equatorial Guinea has never qualified for the Olympic soccer event in the history of the Games
- Nigeria has a strong pedigree in Olympic soccer events, having qualified for Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000 and Beijing 2008.
- The Nigerian Olympic team won gold at Atlanta 1996 and silver at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
- Both teams have never met at this level of football
match officials
The cracker of the African/Olympic Games between Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea will be in charge of the following people:
- Alex Asante (Ghana) – Match Commissioner
- Ibrahim Chaibou – Center Referee
- Abdoulaye Mamane – Assistant Referee 1
- Mani Abdou Salam – Assistant Referee 2
- Ibrahim Mamane – Fourth official
predictions
The statistics favor the Nigerian team with the added advantage of playing at home and having the complement of experience and quality players. It will be the biggest surprise in football history if Equatorial Guinea wins the match. However, a draw cannot be ruled out. The start time is set at 4:00 pm Nigerian time.