Nigeria U23 coach Bright Ozebagbe confident ahead of DR Congo Olympic qualifier

Nigeria U23 head coach Bright Ozebagbe says his side will let their performance speak for them when they face DR Congo in the first leg of their 2028 Olympic Games qualifying tie on Friday.

Ozebagbe was speaking at the pre-match press conference in Lubumbashi, where he stressed that matches are decided over 90 minutes and that home advantage does not guarantee victory.

The Nigeria coach said consistency over both legs would be decisive, with the team that performs best across the two matches earning a place in the next round.

Asked what he had learned about the DR Congo U23 team, Ozebagbe, who also coaches Ikorodu City FC, said his attention had been focused primarily on preparing his own players for the challenge rather than becoming distracted by the opposition.

DR Congo coach Guy Bukasa, meanwhile, is targeting a convincing home win to give his side an advantage before the return fixture in Nigeria.

Bukasa pointed to DR Congo’s previous qualifying-round performance against Mauritania as evidence of the team’s ability to recover from a difficult position. They lost the first leg 1-0 away from home before winning the return match 2-0 to reach the second round.

Although Bukasa acknowledged the quality of the Nigerian team, he believes his players can use home advantage and the backing of their supporters to progress at Nigeria’s expense.

The opening match will be played at TP Mazembe Stadium in Lubumbashi on Friday, November 13. Nigeria will host the second leg at Remo Stars Stadium in Ikenne.

Ozebagbe has selected the following 23 players for the tie:

Goalkeepers

Samuel James (SJK FC, Finland); Clinton Andy (Rivers United); Michael Atata (Ikorodu City).

Defenders

Christian Akpan (Genk FC, Belgium); Victory Akpe (FC Basel, Switzerland); Vince Osuji (Tromsø IL FC, Norway); Emmanuel Godwin (Pardubice FC, Czechia); Odinaka Alfred (Nasarawa United); Emmanuel Ochobi (Rivers United); Aliu Sugau (Barau FC).

Midfielders

John Otomewo (Reims FC, France); Daniel Daga (Molde FC, Norway); Wilfred George (Kristiansund FC, Norway); Chibuzor Nwoko (Fulham FC, England); Aderemi Adeoye (Ikorodu City); Sadiq Saleh (FC Metta, Latvia); Victor Samuel (Pardubice FC, Czechia).

Forwards

Peter Edokpolor (SL Benfica, Portugal); Sulaiman Sani (Al-Qadsiah FC, Saudi Arabia); Umar Abubakar (FC Famalicao, Portugal); Zadok Yohanna (Brighton FC, England); Abdullahi Umar (Hradec Kralove, Czechia); Abdulmuiz Adeleke (Sporting Supreme).