Do the Super Eagles take the next step?
Liberia is a country that has been ravaged by civil war for many years. Slowly but surely, security has been restored in the country, but the national team still does not play its international matches at home. Saturday’s match against Nigeria will therefore take place in Tangier, Morocco.
As expected, the Lona Stars have no chance of qualifying for the play-offs in Africa after four match days. Currently, the team of English coach Peter Butler is at the bottom of the standings. Only three points from four games are too few to keep the dream of Qatar 2022 alive.
It is a different story for the Nigerians, a team that is one of the top teams on the continent and currently tops the table with nine points. The group win is not yet in the bag. The Cape Verde Islands could still knock the Super Eagles off their throne. The Central African Republic has only theoretical chances. In general, the prediction before the match between Liberia and Nigeria is that the Nigerians will win the group.
With a win in Morocco against Liberia and a loss of points by the Cape Verdeans, qualification for the final play-offs would already be in the bag for Gernot Rohr’s team.
Liberia – Statistics & current form
Liberia no longer have George Weah. The one-time world footballer failed to lead the Lone Stars to a World Cup and now, as the country’s president, he is looking after the political and economic fortunes of a beleaguered nation. From a sporting perspective, a player of his quality at the time would be worth his weight in gold for the country’s national team.
Too many defeats for the homeless
Of the last ten international matches, the Liberians have won just two, but lost the other eight all together. The Lone Stars are far from Africa’s footballing establishment. They will also be absent from next year’s Africa Cup in Cameroon. It doesn’t sound like you need to bet on the odds for a Lone Stars success between Liberia and Nigeria.
There were two defeats to Cape Verde in October. The so-called home game was first played in the Ghanaian capital Accra and was lost 2-1. The second leg was also close. A very late goal in the final minute meant the Lone Stars were beaten 1-0.
About half of the squad is still playing at home. The rest are employed by second- to third-tier clubs in Europe, including Northern Macedonia, Kosovo and Azerbaijan. Therefore, the Lone Stars’ line-up lacks the necessary quality, probably also to give the big favourites a leg up on Saturday.
Predicted Liberia line-up:
Songo – Oscar Dorley, Maccornell, Dweh, Balde – Soumaoro, Njie – Sherman, Macauley, Sanoh – Kamara – coach: Butler
Last matches played by Liberia:
World Cup Qualifiers CAF – 2nd Round – Grp. C
10/10 2021 – Cape Verde 1 – 0 Liberia
10/07 2021 – Liberia 1 – 2 Cape Verde
Friendly match
09/30 2021 – Egypt 2 – 0 Liberia
World Cup Qualifier CAF – 2nd Round – Grp. C
09/06 2021 – Central African Republic 0 – 1 Liberia
09/03 2021 – Nigeria 2 – 0 Liberia
Nigeria – Statistics & current form
From the names, Nigeria is a team that definitely belongs in a World Cup. Moreover, the Super Eagles are banking on continuity at the coaching position. Gernot Rohr has been in place since August 2018 and that patience with the coach is paying off with Nigerians regularly competing in major tournaments.
Unexpected home defeat
At the moment, however, the Super Eagles still have to fight and be on their guard. They should not allow themselves a defeat like the one they suffered at home against the Central African Republic. After all, the Super Eagles have won three of their last four international matches and the forecast for the Liberia-Nigeria clash is still for a victory for the visitors.
In October, there was the completely unexpected home defeat against Central Africa. The Nigerians were in control for almost the entire match, but conceded a 1-0 goal in the 90th minute. However, they were able to take revenge three days later with a 2-0 win away from home after goals from Leon Balogun and Victor Osimhen.
Some familiar names have returned to the Super Eagles squad for the last two international matches of the year. Samuel Chukwueze, Odion Ighalo, Wilfred Ndidi or Alex Iwobi also add quality to Gernot Rohr’s line-up. Therefore, the German coach of the Nigerians has numerous options to change his starting eleven on Saturday.
Predicted line-up of Nigeria:
Okoye – Collins, Balogun, Troost-Ekong, Awaziem – Ndidi, Aribo, Simon, Musa – Osimhen, Iheanacho – Coach: Rohr
Last matches played by Nigeria:
World Cup Qualifiers CAF – 2nd Round – Grp. C
10/10 2021 – Central African Republic 0 – 2 Nigeria
10/07 2021 – Nigeria 0 – 1 Central African Republic
09/07 2021 – Cape Verde 1 – 2 Nigeria
09/03 2021 – Nigeria 2 – 0 Liberia
Friendly match
07/04 2021 – Mexico 4 – 0 Nigeria
Liberia – Nigeria Direct comparison / H2H record
The Lone Stars and Super Eagles have crossed paths a total of 16 times to date. The Nigerians are clearly ahead in the head-to-head comparison and have a record of 11-1 victories. Four duels ended in a draw. Liberia’s only victory came in July 2000 in the qualifiers for the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea, where the Lone Stars came within a whisker of reaching the final.
Since then, there have only been four matches and they all went to the Nigerians. The last encounter was just two months ago. The Super Eagles won 2-0 in Lagos, the standard result in recent head-to-head encounters. Kelechi Iheanacho was the match-winner with a brace in a game in which the result was already decided at half-time.
Liberia – Nigeria Tip
For Liberia, the 2022 World Cup in Qatar is already over. The Super Eagles, on the other hand, are well on their way to making the final playoffs. There is not much to suggest that the Nigerians will falter on Saturday, as Liberia have lost eight of their last ten international matches.
Gernot Rohr’s team, on the other hand, have won three of their last four matches. The home defeat against the Central African Republic can be considered a slip-up. In addition, the Super Eagles have almost everything of note on board.
Liberians have won just one of their 16 matches against the Super Eagles. Three of the last four duels ended in a 2-0 win for the Nigerians. That is also where the result should be on Saturday. We have therefore decided to play the betting odds on a win for the Super Eagles between Liberia and Nigeria.
