*Samuel Chukwueze (middle), Raphael Onyedika (right) and Nigeria-born Uche Ikpeazu of Uganda, as well as Nigeria’s Simon Moses (left) during the Eagles’ 3-1 win over the Cranes on Tuesday.

Eagles

By Olawale Lawanson Alabi (www.crestnewsonline.ng)

Nigeria will clash with Mozambique for only the sixth time at senior level on Monday in Fes, as both teams go for each other’s jugular in one of the Round of 16 games of the ongoing 35^th Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals in Morocco.

The 35,000-capacity Complexe Sportif de Fès, which has been home to three-time African champions Nigeria in their entire Group C campaign, will be the venue for the encounter that will commence at 8 p.m.

Nigeria swept through their group phase campaign like the harmattan, winning all three games while scoring eight goals and conceding four.

Ademola Lookman and Raphael Onyedika have scored two goals each, with Semi Ajayi, Victor Osimhen, Wilfred Ndidi and Paul Onuachu supplying the other goals.

Mozambique lost their opening game to Cup holders Cote d’Ivoire, but then dug their feet into the ground to triumph over Gabon, before losing 1-2 to Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions on Wednesday evening.

Monday’s confrontation is expected to be explosive, as the young Mambas have demonstrated capacity to stand toe-to-toe with the big teams and pull something out of the inferno whenever they need to.

Of their five previous confrontations, Nigeria have been victorious on four occasions, including their only AFCON encounter way back in Lubango, Angola in January 2010, with the Eagles running away with a 3-0 win.

Nigeria won a friendly match in Maputo in August 1999 by the odd goal and won another one in Portugal in October 2023 by 3-2.

Their 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches ended 0-0 in Maputo and 1-0 in Abuja, with Obinna Nsofor scoring five minutes into added time to keep alive Nigeria’s World Cup hopes.

If the Super Eagles triumph this time around, as should be expected, they will face the winners of the Algeria/DR Congo tie in the quarter-finals.

It is a game well worth looking out for, given that the Super Eagles have something to prove against both sides.

The Algerians stopped Nigeria in the semi-finals of the 2019 AFCON in Egypt, going on to win for their second title, with their first also being against the Eagles back in 1990.

DR Congo stopped the Eagles in November from advancing to the final playoff for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

That is a huge one indeed, and there will be prayers said in many places for this pairing to come to be.

SUPER EAGLES, MAMBAS IN HISTORY

August 17, 1999: Mozambique 0-1 Nigeria (International Friendly: Maputo)

March 29, 2009: Mozambique 0-0 Nigeria (World Cup qualifier: Maputo)

October 11, 2009: Nigeria 1-0 Mozambique (WCq: Abuja)

January 20, 2010: Mozambique 0-3 Nigeria (AFCON: Lubango, Angola)

October 16, 2023: Mozambique 2-3 Nigeria (International Friendly: Lisbon)

(www.crestnewsonline.ng)