Which Eagles are feeling the pressure?

Another big day for African football coming up. My focus will be on the second game of January 25th, the Super Eagles of Nigeria against the Eagles of Mali. This is a crucial game. Chances are one of those two teams will advance to the knockout round and the other will be heading home with their heads held low.

For my boys from Mali, they will most likely need to defeat either Nigeria or Cote d’Ivoire to prolong their stay in Ghana. And with all due respect to Nigeria my friend Emmanuel over at the Nigeria blog, this seems to be the game that is the most winnable. Cote d’Ivoire I feel is too strong and most likely will top the group, leaving Nigeria and Mali to battle it out for second.

In recent ACN memory Nigeria has held Mali’s number, defeating them 1-0 in 2002 and 2-1 in 2004.

Don’t look for too many changes to the Mali lineup that defeated Benin in game 1. One of the questions is will Liverpool man Momo Sissoko see any action or will he be again the victim of too many other players that fit in the lineup better than he does? I’m also wondering if we will see Mamadi Sidibe start up front with Kanoute in place of Dramane Traore who didn’t really assert himself all that well against Benin and was substituted for in the 55th minute. Also, aside from the penalty, Freddy was pretty quiet against Benin and will need to be much more of a presence against Nigeria.

So, bring on the Super Eagles. Should be a great game as both teams fight for their ACN lives.