The Leone Stars of Sierra Leone have revealed their plan to upset the Super Eagles of Nigeria when both teams clash in the African Cup Of Nations qualifier on Sunday, June 18, 2023 in Liberia.
The Super Eagles who are currently leading the group won the first leg between sides when they met at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja.
Speaking ahead of encounter, Sierra Leone’s tactician, John Keister believes that his team is capable of clipping the Super Eagles’ wings on Sunday.
He said “I know how difficult it can be in football but then again I am not the one for excuses. I just believe in doing the work and concentrating on what we have to do and doing it to the best of our ability because that is all that matters.”
“We are going there (Monrovia) to compete and that is a fact. We are not going there to lie down, this is a time when I don’t really need to tell the players the significance of the game because they should understand that and should relish the challenge of coming up against Nigerian players that are doing very well abroad.”
Keister believes that his current side is capable of repeating the feat he and his colleagues achieved against the Super Eagles over two decades ago.
“I remember in 2001, I was part of the Sierra Leone team that beat Nigeria 1-0 and this was when no one expected anything from us. I have that feeling again with this team going to Liberia to face Nigeria, despite the challenges we have with players suspended, several personal issues and injuries, that we can do it again.”
“We can’t afford to show them too much respect and that is a fact in football. It is about how badly we want it and how much we can motivate the boys and trust them to go and perform. Like I said, they have some good players doing well abroad, but it is about how we approach the game and we will go into the game with a very strong mentality as we have always done.”
