Nigeria’s defensive set-up will be key as Super Eagles of Nigeria go for the defence of the Unity cup which they won last year against the Raggae boyz of Jamaica.
Eagles Coach Eric Chelle and his boys face an improved Jamaican side from the one they defeated in last year’s unity cup final with the Super Eagles backline expected to face a bigger test tonight than they faced against the Warriors of Zimbabwe in the semi-final.
Chelle would be missing the services of Samuel Chukwueze and Moses Simon who were instrumental for the team’s win last year.
Speaking ahead of the game, Chelle said his team was prepared to retain the Unity cup.
“This is only a friendly game. This is not the World Cup qualifier, but we made some mistakes with the ball against Zimbabwe. They need to work hard. They need to understand what I want, what the technical staff want and the high level is difficult,” Chelle said.
Jamaica’s win over India showed a team that is organised and comfortable playing at pace.
Goals from Courtney Clarke and Kaheim Dixon secured a routine 2-0 result, setting up a repeat of last year’s final against Nigeria who overcame Zimbabwe with the same scoreline to reach a second successive final.
Analysts expect the Super Eagles to put up a sharper performance if they must beat Jamaica in this Unity Cup final.
Both teams played out a 2-2 draw in the final last year before Nigeria triumphed 5-4 on penalties.
The last and only time Nigeria lost to Jamaica was on May 25, 2003 in an International Friendly.
