If October’s Fifa ranking is anything to go by, Gernot Rohr’s Super Eagles will have no problems picking up all three points against Cape Verde in Lagos.
While Nigeria are fifth in Africa and 36th in the world, Bubista's men are a distant 14th on the continent and 76th in the world.
Ahmed Musa would be hoping to mark his 103rd international appearance with a victory against the Cape Verdeans.
The Nigeria skipper earned his 102nd international cap having featured in Saturday’s World Cup qualifier against Peter Butler’s Liberia.
After representing the country at youth level, the speedy forward made his senior debut on August 5, 2010, in the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Madagascar – coming in as a substitute for John Obi Mikel in the 2-0 win.
The Blue Sharks have won their last three games in World Cup qualifying matches.
Their last defeat was against Senegal on September 7, 2021. Despite taking the lead, they were silenced 2-1 at Estadio Municipal Aderito Sena through strikes from Victor Osimhen plus an own goal by Kenny Rocha Santos.
Having this in mind, Gernot Rohr’s men are expected to sit up when they take on Bubista’s team.
The three-time African kings are hoping to qualify for the global football showpiece for the seventh time in their history.
To achieve this goal, they must first negotiate their way past Bubista’s men while defeat will end that dream.
Since making their debut in the United States of America in 1994, the Super Eagles have only missed one edition (Germany 2006).
At the 2018 edition in Russia, Nigeria crashed out of the group stage after failing to scale a group that included Argentina, Iceland and Croatia.
The Super Eagles have won four out of their last five World Cup qualification matches.
The three-time African kings’ only defeat was against the Central African Republic at the Teslim Balogun Stadium.
Before then, their only defeat in any competitive match dated back to July 14, 2019, where they crashed to Algeria in an Africa Cup of Nations fixture.
Cape Verde conceded seven goals in their last six matches in all competitions.
The highest goals conceded in a match was two against Senegal (June 8, 2021) and Nigeria (September 7, 2021).
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