OWN CORRESPONDENT, Lagos | Saturday 6.30pm.
THE opening game in the African Nations Cup ‘Group of Death’ on Sunday pits Nigeria against Tunisia — teams considered strong enough to go all the way and win the biennial tournament.
It will be a Group D match of contrasts with poorly-prepared, Europe-based Nigerians opposing perfectly-conditioned, home-based Tunisians at the 40,000-seat National Stadium.
The Nigerian Super Eagles selected players from Austria, England, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Egypt and Tunisia plus one local in third-choice goalkeeper Murphy Akanji.
Tunisia picked nine players from 1999 African Champions League runners-up Esperance, six from CAF Cup winners Etoile du Sahel, three from CS Sfaxien and just three from Europe.
Jo Bonfrere from the Netherlands, who guided Nigeria to victory in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, has been in charge for 53 days while opposite number, Italian Francesco Scoglio, has directed Tunisia for nearly two years.
While the Nigerian build-up was marred by late arrivals and poor results in Spain, Tunisia won five consecutive home matches before losing 2-0 in Ghana this week.
Nigeria are favoured to make a winning start, though, as they have not lost at the match venue since 1981, can count on passionate support, and possess a squad capable of defeating any opposition in the 16-strong field.
African Footballer of the Year Nwanwko Kanu from English club Arsenal leads a galaxy of stars, including Taribo West, Celestine Babayaro, Sunday Oliseh, Finidi George, Augustine ‘Jay Jay’ Okocha and Jonathan Akpoborie.
The intriguing issue is whether a group of talented individuals can click 18 months after they last played together during a disappointing World Cup campaign in France that ended with a heavy, second-round beating by Denmark.
Scoglio is delighted that his team lacks household names like Kanu and Okocha, preferring organisation, team spirit and confidence. He fears the Super Eagles most in a pool completed by Congo and Morocco, who meet Tuesday. — AFP