Two of the Africa Cup of Nations favorites Nigeria and Tunisia will lock horns in the Round of 16 with Burkina Faso and Gabon also clashing in the first last 16 encounters.Nigeria vs TunisiaThe Super Eagles became the only side to win all their Group Stage encounters after edging record Champions Egypt and making light work of Sudan and Guinea Bissau.1.75 Nigeria 3.45 Tunisia 6.00Nigeria who are the 2013 champions have remarkably finished third in five of their last seven AFCON tournaments and have only lost once in the Round of 16 since the 2000 edition. Coach Augustine Eguavoen! #SoarSuperEagles #Team9jaStrong #AFCON2021 pic.twitter.com/Ce7mlPnYHZ— 🇳🇬 Super Eagles (@NGSuperEagles) January 21, 2022 Nigeria head coach Augustine Eguavoen who was awarded the best coach of the group stages credited his players for enabling him to win the award but admitted that knockout football is a different ball game. “We topped our group with maximum points, but this is a totally different story, and the players and technical staff know this well. We are not done with what we had in the group. We will work together for the coming steps. We plan to go as far as possible. Being named the best coach of the group stage was because of the players. They make coaches win,” said Eguavoen. Tunisia assistant coach Bilal Kadri whose team has been one of the worst-hit by Covid-19 was delighted with reaching the knockout phases and lauded the strength of Nigeria. “Our target was to reach the second round and we did that. We have a lot of confidence despite the difficulties we are facing. We know well how strong Nigeria is, but we are all ready to go far in this tournament.🔴⚪ La CAF aurait annoncé aujourd’hui à la Tunisie qu’Ali Abdi serait finalement lui aussi positif au Covid.Sur les 5 latéraux convoqués, 4 sont donc pour l’instant forfaits pour le match face au Nigéria…(via @WalidElMechri2)#Tunisie #CAN2021 #TeamTunisia— Tunisie Football (@tunisiefootball) January 22, 2022 Our morale is good, and we have experienced and great players. Luck was not on our side, but this is football. We wished that we are not affected by Covid-19, but we have to deal with the situation professionally. Everyone will give 200% of their powers,” said Kadri. The match is set to kick off at 10 PM (EAT).Burkina Faso vs GabonThe two nations have meet twice in the competition with Gabon going unbeaten having won once and drawing the other in the 2015 and 2017 editions respectively. 2.65 Burkina Faso 2.90 Gabon 3.25Burkina Faso arrive into the clash with impeccable form in the competition as they have only lost one of their last nine Africa Cup of Nations matches with Gabon going six games unbeaten in the tourney. #AFCON2021 KOs SET!#TeamCameroon #TeamBurkinaFaso #TeamCapeVerde #TeamSenegal#TeamGuinea #TeamMalawi#TeamMorocco#TeamGabon#TeamNigeria#TeamEgypt#TeamCotedIvoire#TeamGambia#TeamMali#TeamTunisia#TeamComoros#TeamEquatorialGuinea #TotalEnergiesAFCON2021 pic.twitter.com/mRc6uHEc6d— #TotalEnergiesAFCON2021 🏆 (@CAF_Online) January 21, 2022 Burkina Faso head coach Kamou Malo was quick to put behind their emphatic 3-0 victory over Gabon in a friendly just before the tournament but was looking for another win against the Panthers. “The first objective was to qualify from the group. The team is gaining momentum as it improves. It’s true that we beat Gabon in a friendly, but the context has changed. We respect Gabon, and we are going to have a serious match. We will play to win. It is a personal challenge to succeed in this AFCON, we represent African expertise, African coaches,” said Malo. His counterpart Patrice Neveu who has had to deal with the losses of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mario Lemina emphasized on the importance of the clash. Patrice NEVEU “LE MORAL EST AU BEAU FIXE “”Nous allons tout faire pour nous qualifier”. “Nous avons fait une séance hier qui me permet d’être confiant par rapport à l’état de forme de mes joueurs”.Lire la suite sur :https://t.co/1kzUgv1nel pic.twitter.com/jxLV9Hu3GL— Fédération Gabonaise de Football – FEGAFOOT (@fegafoot_gabon) January 22, 2022 “We encountered many problems, but we managed and coped with them. We are aware of the importance of this match. We lost our last match against Burkina Faso. We have drawn conclusions, and we know that Burkina has a good team. We have managed to win back our audience, and we want more than that, as we know we can pass this stage. We have to take our opportunities. The players are focused, and we will be more physically and mentally ready,” said Neveu. The clash is slated for a 7 PM (EAT) kick-off.
