Guinea-Bissau forwards respect Nigeria but target another win

Guinea-Bissau forwards Beto and Álvaro Djaló have warned that Nigeria will provide a stronger challenge than Tanzania, while insisting the hosts can win Tuesday’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifier. The Djurtus opened their 2027 qualifying campaign with a 2-0 away victory over Tanzania. Nigeria also began with a win, recovering from a goal down to beat Madagascar 2-1 in Uyo.

Beto, the Fiorentina striker, was an unused substitute against Tanzania, while Athletic Bilbao winger Djaló came on in the second half. Speaking after Sunday’s training session, Beto said the opening victory had increased confidence but should not distract the team from the difficulty of facing Nigeria. “The victory against Tanzania gave confidence to the group, but the game against Nigeria will be completely different,” Beto said through Guinea-Bissau newspaper O Democrata GB, according to Punch Nigeria.

He called for greater concentration and focus. Beto also recognised the Super Eagles’ individual quality but said Guinea-Bissau had prepared thoroughly and retained confidence in its squad and coaching staff. He said the team had been improving from match to match and believed it could produce a positive result.

Djaló said Guinea-Bissau’s ambition was to win every match in pursuit of qualification. He described the squad as highly motivated before the meeting at the 24 de Setembro Stadium. The fixture will be the fifth between the countries, with Nigeria holding the recent advantage after winning their last two meetings.

Guinea-Bissau nevertheless recorded a notable 1-0 victory in Abuja during the first leg of the 2023 qualifying campaign, when Mama Baldé scored. Nigeria won the return match in Bissau 1-0 after Moses Simon converted a 30th-minute penalty. Both sides now enter Tuesday’s game with three points, making the result important to their efforts to maintain a perfect start in Group L.