Benin may have been decimated by a wholesale withdrawal of the squad on account of travel restrictions caused by the Coronavirus Pandemic, but they will be fired up to beat star-studded Super Eagles and qualify for the 2021 AFCON, according to Renquins FC of Benin goalkeeper Emmanuel Fabiyi.
Next-door neigbours Benin and Nigeria will clash on March 27 in Porto-Novo with qualification tickets for the AFCON in Cameroon at stake.
Coach Michel Dussyer will now be forced to use Benin players based in Africa as well as those in the local league to face mighty Nigeria after as many as 10 original call-ups will now miss this match.
Fabiyi has told SCORENigeria could achieve a famous victory even without some of their top stars like Jodel Dossou and Steve Mounie, who will not be available because the laws in France stipulate they quarantine for a week should they travel outside the European Union.
“It’s obvious Nigeria have more players in the big leagues compared to Benin Republic. This is the moment the country have been waiting for and they are upbeat they can come out victorious over Nigeria,” said the goalkeeper, who has won several caps with Benin even though he was born in Nigeria.
“Football is not how big you are as a nation or how big the players are, but how ready, determined, disciplined and dedicated the players are.
“Benin are ready to kill the giant.”
The Squirrels are second in the qualifying group with seven points from four matches, a point behind leaders Nigeria.
Sierra Leone are third on three points.
A win in Porto-Novo will qualify Benin for the AFCON to be staged in Cameroon next year, while Nigeria need only a point to bag their ticket.
In the reverse tie in 2019, the Eagles had to come back from a goal down to win 2-1 at home.
