2023 AFCON: Guinea-Bissau Name Final Squad For Super Eagles

Unlike the Super Eagles of Nigeria that named a provisional squad, Guinea-Bissau, who are in the same group as the Nigerian team, have already unveiled their final squad.

The head coach of Guinea-Bissau, Baciro Candé unveiled his 25-man squad on December 25 even though the Confederation of Africa Football (CAF) gives room for each of the 24-particpating teams to name at most 27 players.

Note that Djurtus of Guinea-Bissau are in Group A of the 2023 AFCON alongside the hosts, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, and Equatorial Guinea.

They will open the tournament by playing the hosts, Elephants of Ivory Coast on January 13 and then the Equatorial Guineans on January 18, with the possibility of a winner-take-all contest. They will end their group stage campaign with the Super Eagles of Nigeria on January 22.

Ahead of the tournament, Guinea-Bissauan coach, Candé named seven midfielders, seven strikers, eight defenders, and three goalkeepers in his 25-man squad.

Two of these players, Mama Baldé and Opa Sangante, are well-known in Nigeria because they played a part in Guinea-Bissau’s surprising 1-0 victory over the Super Eagles in the AFCON qualifying tournament in March.

Recall that this same country stunned the Nigerian team with a lone goal at the National Stadium in Abuja, thanks to Lyon striker Baldé who scored after receiving a pass from Dunkerque midfielder Sangante.

However, the Super Eagles visited them three days later in the Estádio Nacional 24 de Setembro in Bissau, and Nigeria defeated them 1-0 thanks to a penalty kick by Moses Simon.

Interestingly, the Super Eagles went on to finish top of the qualification group and were coincidentally paired to play Guinea-Bissau again in the 2023 AFCON group stage.