Nigeria will look to revive their 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign when they face Seychelles in a Group E clash at Stade Linite in Victoria on Saturday, 8 September 2018, kick-off at 14h30 CAT.
Nigeria comes into the clash placed third on the Group E standings after they lost their opening match 2-0 at home to South Africa back in June 2017. Tokelo Rantie and Percy Tau scored the goals for the visitors at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo. But, the team will be without three key players due to injury Alex Iwobi, Ola Aina and Ekong will all miss the match.
Seychelles, meanwhile, is placed last on the standings after their match away to Libya (which was played in Egypt due to continuing political instability in Libya) ended in a 5-1 defeat. Anis Saltou, Ahmad Benali, Hamdou Elhouni, Mohamed Zubya and Muadi Ellafi netted for the Mediterranean Knights, while Bobby Tri Sulistyan netted the consolation for the Pirates.
Nigeria’s recent form has been nothing to brag about: they lost two of their three clashes at the 2018 World Cup Russia, going down to both Croatia and Argentina to suffer an early exit. The Super Eagles did at least defeat Iceland 2-0, but that is their only win in their last seven outings.
AFCON performance
Nigeria boasts three AFCON titles to their name, but have not appeared at the tournament since winning the trophy in South Africa in 2013. Coach Gernot Rohr has made it a priority that they qualify for the 2019 finals in Cameroon.
Seychelles, by contrast, has never qualified for the AFCON finals. Their attempt to reach the last continental tournament in 2017 saw them finish third in a group which included Algeria, Ethiopia and Lesotho.
The Island archipelago nation in the Indian Ocean was last in action in the COSAFA Cup in South Africa in May, where they played to 1-1 draw with both Comoros and Madagascar, before suffering a 2-1 defeat against Mozambique.
Seychelles v Nigeria – Head-to-Head
This will be the first-ever meeting of Seychelles and Nigeria in senior international football.
Past performance, most recent matches first:
| Seychelles | L | D | D | D | L |
| Nigeria | L | W | L | L | L |