Super Eagles let fall 2-0 to Guinea in final AFCON warm-up

In their final friendly match before the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations, the Super Eagles played to a 2-0 loss against Guinea.

Manager José Peseiro made several changes to the starting squad from Sunday’s match, including bringing in Stanley Nwabili for keeper Francis Uzoho. Initial chances fell to Eagles Samuel Chukwueze, Chidozie Awaziem and Moses Simon, but none converted.

Guinea’s Aguibou Camara scored first for Guinea in the 14th minute. Simon earned a penalty chance in the 20th but was denied by Guinea’s goalkeeper. Another missed header by Sadiq Umar in the 42nd concluded the half with Guinea up 1-0.

The second half opened with more missed Nigerian chances before Guinea’s Bastia striker Facinet Conté sealed the Eagles’ fate in the 64th minute. Peseiro substituted in Calvin Bassey, Alex Iwobi and Frank Onyeka, around the 80th-minute mark, but the 2-0 scoreline held steady for a Guinea win.

The loss may impact team confidence as Nigeria heads into their first Africa Cup match on Sunday, against Equatorial Guinea. Peseiro will have his work cut out for him on the technical side as well as addressing Nigeria’s finishing, which was not clinical enough to find the back of the net.