Latest News
‘Big names don’t play football’ – Guinea-Bissau coach revels in victory over Nigeria
By Monsurah Olatunji
Following the historic 1-0 victory over Nigeria, Guinea Bissau head coach Baciro Cande says big names don’t play football as his opponents boast of mostly some of the big names in European leagues.
Guinea-Bissau ended Nigeria’s six-year unbeaten home run in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers after recording a shocking 1-0 victory over the three-time African champions for the first time ever.
The Super Eagles started with it strong legs, featuring Napoli ace Victor Osimhen, alongside Leicester City forward Kelechi Iheanacho in attack, flanked on either side by Villarreal star Samuel Chukwueze and Atalanta golden boot contender Ademola Lookman.
All four have accounted for over fifty club goals in Europe during the 2022/23 season but were caged by the Wild Dogs of Guinea-Bissau, including Nantes’ Moses Simon and Southampton’s Paul Onuachu joining the attack at halftime with Everton’s Alex Iwobi and Leicester’s Wilfred Ndidi dictating play from midfield.
However, it’s Troyes’ Mama Balde who shines brightest as his lobe goal made the difference on the night and Cande said: “This victory is for the Guinea-Bissau people, we respect all the Nigerian players, but big names don’t play football on the pitch.
“They (Eagles) tried to do everything to beat us and created many scoring chances, but we deserve the win. I can’t really speak about the strategy we deployed in today’s match because we have another game next week.”
Continue Reading
