2021 Afcon qualifier: NFF confirms date and venue for Nigeria vs Lesotho

Nigeria’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Lesotho will be held at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos, the Nigeria Football Federation has confirmed.

According to a social media post by the country’s football body, the Super Eagles will take on the Crocodiles in Group L’s last game on Tuesday, March 30, 2021.

Three days earlier, the three-time African champions would face Benin Republic at the Stade Charles de Gaulle in Porto-Novo.

Nigeria are unbeaten in all four games played in their group so far, winning two and playing two draws to lead the log with eight points – just one point ahead of closest challengers, the Squirrels.

Sierra Leone are third with just three points from the same number of games, while Lesotho who sit at the base of the table with two points must win their remaining two games convincingly to stand a chance of qualifying for the 2022 Afcon billed for Cameroon.

Since their 0-0 draw against the Leone Stars at the National Stadium, Freetown in November 2020, Gernot Rohr’s men have not played any international games – albeit, they will be banking on the impressive form of the country’s Europe-based stars to ensure a triumph later this month.

Should the three-time African kings qualify for Cameroon 2022, that will be their 19th appearance at the finals since their debut in Ghana 1963 – where they crashed out in the preliminary round.

The Super Eagles’ last outing at the biennial African football showpiece in Egypt ended in a third-place finish after defeating Tunisia 1-0 to pick up the bronze medal thanks to Odion Ighalo’s third-minute effort at Cairo’s Al Salam Stadium.

Their last triumph was at the 2013 edition staged in South Africa after defeating Burkina Faso 1-0 in the final. They have finished as runners-up on four occasions, while finishing third for a record eight times.

The 33rd edition of the biennial tournament was due to begin in Cameroon on January 9, 2021, but was pushed back to January 2022 due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic across the continent.

Algeria are the reigning African champions, having defeated Senegal 1-0 in the 2019 final in Cairo.