Coach Augustine Eguavoen stated Nigerians should not expect ‘massive changes’ when Super Eagles square up against Guinea-Bissau in Wednesday’s Africa Cup of Nations encounter.
The three-time champions began their campaign on a winning note against Egypt in Garoua before grinding out a 3-1 victory over Sudan to earn a place in the Round of 16.
With qualification to the next round already secured, the Super Eagles square up against the Djurtus as they aim to make it three wins from three matches.
According to Eguavoen, he will ring the changes in a bid to rest some of his regulars for the next round, nevertheless, he would not make a total overhaul.
“It’s always good to qualify, we have done that in style. Everyone that has come here is ready to play and I have always told them ‘your chance will come’, but don’t expect massive changes but there will be one or two,” he told the media.
Guinea-Bissau stay winless in their eight matches in the Africa Cup of Nations (three draws and five losses); only Benin Republic (14), Mozambique (12) and Namibia (9) have played more games in the championship without ever picking up a win.
Also, Baciro Cande’s men are yet to score at Cameroon 2021 despite attempting 16 shots with an average total of 2.21 in their two matches so far.
Generally, they have failed to score in their last six Afcon matches; no nation has ever gone seven straight games without a goal in the competition’s history.
Regardless, Eguavoen disclosed their opponents should be accorded respect and approached with the same enthusiasm displayed against the Pharaohs and the Falcons of Jediane.
“We have always respected our opponents and we will keep respecting them,” the 56-year-old continued.
“We are going to approach this game with the same enthusiasm as we did in the first two games.”
In addition, he assured that the team would step up their game in terms of converting begging opportunities.
“Generally, you don’t expect the game to go smoothly for 90 minutes, there will be ups and downs,” he added.
“We create a lot of chances and putting them away is a bit of a concern. However, we have worked on that and we hope that we can improve on that.”
