Kenya’s Rising Stars are right in the firing line as seven-time champions and two-time runners-up Nigeria are determined to celebrate their 100thmatch of the U20 Africa Cup of Nations with a win in downtown Cairo on Wednesday evening.
The clash, one of the closing games of group B of the ongoing CAF U20 Championship and which is scheduled to kick off 4pm Nigeria time, is on different gradients for both teams, with the Kenyans in need of a handsome win to stand a chance of progressing to the quarter finals while the Flying Eagles only require a draw.
Second-placed Nigeria, on four points, will reach the last eight of the competition if they secure a draw (which will take their haul to five, and spring them to the next round irrespective of the result in the clash between first-placed Morocco and third-placed Tunisia).
A win for Morocco will take them to seven points, and keep three-pointer Tunisia in third place, while a draw earns Morocco a total of five points from their three matches and keeps Tunisia at four. A win for Tunisia will take the Junior Carthage Eagles to six points and drag the Lion Cubs to third place.
With 19 teams involved in the tournament, and teams drawn into three pools, the top two teams in each group, alongside the best two third-placed teams, will progress to the quarter finals.
Despite their promise, the Rising Stars have failed to light up Cairo, losing a five-goal thriller to Morocco on the opening day and failing to deliver in the 1-3 loss to Tunisia on Sunday.
Getting a win against Nigeria will be huge for the Kenyans, who have struggled badly over the decades against Nigeria opposition on the field of play.
Their first three encounters, between 1968 and 1991, were friendly matches, with Nigeria winning twice in Nairobi and the other match (also in Nairobi) ending in a 1-1 draw. In a 1986 FIFA World Cup qualifying match in Nairobi in April 1985, goals by Fatai Amao and Rashidi Yekini, and a Hussein Khari own goal, gave Nigeria a 3-0 win. In the return leg in Lagos, Yekini and Dr Joe Masiga each scored a magnificent goal, but Dahiru Sadi and Yisa Sofoluwe added to Nigeria’s tally for a 3-1 win.
Nigeria won 3-0 and 2-1 in 1988 and 1992 AFCON group phase matches respectively, and in a 1998 World Cup qualifying fixture, both teams drew 1-1 in Nairobi before Nigeria triumphed 3-0 in Lagos to qualify for France 1998. Nigeria won friendly matches in 2002, 2007 and 2011, and also beat the Kenyans home (3-0) and away (3-2) to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals.
In 2013, a 1-1 draw in Calabar and 1-0 win in Nairobi in 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers confirmed Nigeria’s undoubted superiority. In qualifying matches for the 1996 Olympic Games, both teams played a 1-1 draw in Nigeria, but the Dream Team victimised their hosts 3-0 in Mombasa.
The Flying Eagles will be determined to underscore this superiority on Wednesday, in order to pop champagne in what will be their 100th match of the tournament and also stand a chance of finishing as group B winners.
