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22 min: Uganda concede a sloppy corner, which keeper Onyango tries to prevent but ends up twisting his ankle off the pitch! Onyango gets some treatment but hobbles back to his feet. A chance for Nigeria to test the keeper from the corner, but the set piece fails to beat the first man.
19 min: Ikpeazu and Omedi combine with the latter crossing with a rabona! Omedi has previous with the skill – it’s sort of his party piece – and he was nominated for the Puskas award last year for his goal for Kitara against KCCA.
16 min: Uganda have sent a few searching crosses to the back post, the latest in the direction of Omedi, but Nigeria scramble to get the ball clear.
13 min: Huge collision as two full-backs come to blows, with Nigerian debutant Alebiosu trying to get beyond Kayondo, with the former shoulder barging his marker into the advertising hoardings on the Uganda byline. Good defending and both players get up with little complaint.
10 min: Nigeria come alive on the counter attack! Moses Simon, now playing at Paris FC, drives at Semakula and nutmegs the Ugandan, reaching the byline but Simon’s cutback is a messy one and Onyedika can’t steer a shot towards goal! Uganda clear and breathe a sigh of relief.
8 min: Most of the pre-match analysis of the line-ups suggested that Nigeria would line up in a 4-3-3, but it’s clear they are playing in a 4-4-2, with Osimhen and Onuachu up top. That certainly seems more sensible, given that Osimhen or 6ft7in Onuachu doesn’t play on the wing.
6 min: Uganda have started well here. Mutyaba, wearing the No 10 shirt, is popping it around with a lot of confidence.
4 min: An early booking for Calvin Bassey, who rugby tackles Ikpeazu to the ground, with the Uganda striker threatening to run through on goal. That is going to be some tussle – Bassey and Ikpeazu are both absolute units. From the resulting free-kick, Mato wastes the chance for Uganda with something that was neither a cross nor a shot.
2 min: Nigeria show their intent as Osimhen goes through on goal, latching onto a lovely pass from Chukwueze and the striker stings the palms of Onyango. It is eventually flagged for offside but that was a flowing move from Nigeria.
Peeeeeeeeeeep!
Uganda have kick off and very deliberately boot it straight out of play for a Nigeria goal kick. An odd start, even if we have seen this tactic before.
The teams are out! The Stade Foot Fès is sparsely populated but the Uganda fans that have made the trip to Morocco are in good voice, belting out the national anthem.
Uganda are in a fetching black kit with a yellow trim, while Nigeria are in their changed white kit.
Nigeria are now the fourth favourites (behind Morocco, Senegal and Algeria) to lift the Afcon trophy after their opening two group wins. This tournament is potentially very cathartic for them after the pain of missing out on World Cup qualification in a dramatic playoff defeat by DR Congo last month. In the wake of that defeat, the Super Eagles manager, Éric Chelle, said that his team had been defeated by “voodoo”.
It’s a special game for Uganda striker Uche Ikpeazu. Born in England to a Nigerian father and Ugandan mother, Ikpeazu scored a fine equaliser for Uganda in their 1-1 draw with Tanzania, a brilliant diving header.
Here’s what the 6ft3in striker, now at St Johnstone in Scotland, had to say about his mixed heritage and his hopes for this match against Nigeria.
“Of course there’s going to be an emotional attachment [to facing Nigeria]. There’s always going to be that. But I have an emotional attachment to Uganda as well and I play for Uganda as well, so I will be hoping to beat Nigeria, I’m sorry.
“You want to play at the highest level possible and obviously I’ve overcome so much trials and tribulations and to play at the African Cup of Nations has always been a dream of mine. It’s amazing but I have a lot of desire to progress through the next round. I don’t want the journey to finish, I feel like it’s just getting started.”
The “trials and tribulations” that Ikpeazu mentions is a reference to the freak injury he suffered in June of last year after twisting his knee at home. He required surgery but he has now made it onto (nearly) the biggest stage.
That is a surprising XI from Nigeria! Not only because of who they have rested, but also who they have included. Only Bassey, Onyemaechi and Osimhen retain their place here from the XI that started against Tunisia.
Captain Wilfred Ndidi, Semi Ajayi and goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali are all rested given the threat of suspension. The trio all received yellow cards in the group stage and another here would mean a suspension for the knockouts, so it’s smart to rest them. That makes the inclusion of superstar striker Osimhen all the more baffling, given he is also in the same boat. Éric Chelle will be praying the Galatasaray forward does not pick up another yellow here, or he will miss the last-16 match.
One notable inclusion is Ryan Alebiosu, a former Arsenal academy graduate who signed for Blackburn from Belgian side Kortrijk in the summer, and who makes his Nigeria debut.
The teams!
Uganda: Onyango, Alhassan, Byaruhanga, Ikpeazu, Kayondo, Mato, Mutyaba, Semakula, Sibbick, Obita, Omedi.
Subs: Ahimbisibwe, Alionzi, Aucho, Bogere, Kwikiriza, Lorenzen, Magoola, Mpande, Mukundane, Mukwala, Muleme, Okello, Ssekiganda, Ssemubagi, Torach.
Nigeria: Uzoho, Alebiosu, Ogbu, Bassey, Onyedika, Dele-Bashiru,
Onyemaechi, Chukwueze, Onuachu, Osimhen, Simon.
Subs: Adams, Ajayi, Akinsanmiro, Awaziem, Ejuke, Iwobi, Lawal, Lookman, Ndidi, Nnadi, Nwabali, Obasogie, Onyeka, Samuel, Sanusi.
Preamble
Welcome all!
Nigeria are already through to the round of 16 following two victories over Tunisia and Tanzania, and are bidding to reach the knockout stages with a perfect record, something that they have only achieved once before.
Uganda are bottom of Group C with one point but a win here would – at the very least – mean that they qualify as one of the best third-placed finishers. The east African side actually have a better head-to-head record than the Super Eagles, winning four and drawing two of their eight clashes, so are something of a bogey team for Nigeria.
Éric Chelle also has something of a dilemma for selection, with Nigeria captain Wilfred Ndidi, talisman Victor Osimhen, Semi Ajayi and goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali all just one booking away from getting suspended for the last-16 match if they pick up another yellow card here. Both Southampton flop Paul Onuachu and former Rangers striker Cyriel Dessers are contenders to potentially replace Osimhen here. But a much-changed side could throw off some of the momentum built up so far in Morocco – the 3-2 win over Tunisia – who scored two late goals – did show some signs of complacency for Nigeria and Chelle will want to avoid that in their final group game.
Kick-off: 4pm GMT.
