Nigeria and South Africa in ‘grudge’ clash
JOHANNESBURG: Rival captains Ogenyi Onazi of Nigeria and Thulani Hlatshwayo of South Africa have set a fiery tone for their 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier this weekend.
The Group E showdown in Uyo offers the South Africans another chance to beat their fierce rivals for the first time in an official match after six losses and three draws since 1992.
“We do not want to forget that South Africa partly contributed to us not going to the 2015 Cup of Nations,” said Onazi, standing in as skipper for unavailable John Mikel Obi.
“This time, we must restore our pride and make sure we get the three points off them on Saturday.
“Nigerians do not forgive losers easily and it is our responsibility to make the country proud whenever we are in action,” added the Turkey-based midfielder.
Hlatshwayo, a centre-back from South African champions Wits, was named captain this week by new England-born coach Stuart Baxter.
“It will be a baptism of fire as captain, but we have come close to beating them in our last two meetings and I think they are there for the taking this time.
“Although Nigeria are a proud andarrogant team, Ibelievewe have now overcome that psychological barrier of not having beaten them in an official match.
“This will be a grudge match. We denied them a place at the 2015 Cup of Nations and they will be out for revenge, which might work to our advantage.”
Apart from being a bogey team for South Africa, an in-form squad, home advantage, longer preparations and several warm-up matches make Nigeria favourites. But German coach Gernot Rohr cautioned against over- optimism ahead of the first-round fixture in a group completed by unpredictable Libya and outsiders the Seychelles. — AFP European zone World Cup qualifying this weekend (All kick- offs 1845 GMT unless stated otherwise):
Friday Group A
At Rotterdam, Netherlands Netherlands v Luxembourg At Barysaw, Belarus Belarus v Bulgaria At Stockholm Sweden v France
Group B
At Torshavn Faroe Islands v Switzerland At Andorra la Vella Andorra v Hungary At Riga Latvia v Portugal
Group H
At Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina v Greece At Tallinn Estonia v Belgium At Faro, Portugal Gibraltar v Cyprus
Saturday Group C
At Baku (1600 GMT) Azerbaijan v Northern Ireland At Oslo Norway v Czech Republic At Nuremberg, Germany Germany v San Marino
Group E
At Almaty, Kazakhstan (1600 GMT) Kazakhstan v Denmark At Warsaw Poland v Romania At Podogrica Montenegro v Armenia
Group F
At Glasgow, Scotland (1600 GMT) Scotland v England At Ljubljana (1600 GMT) Slovenia v Malta At Vilnius Lithuania v Slovakia
Sunday Group D
At Dublin (1600 GMT) Republic of Ireland v Austria At Chisinau (1600 GMT) Moldova v Georgia At Belgrade Serbia v Wales
Group G
At Skopje Macedonia v Spain At Haifa, Israel Israel v Albania At Udine, Italy Italy v Liechtenstein
Group I
At Tampere, Finland (1600 GMT) Finland v Ukraine At Reykjavik Iceland v Croatia At Shkoder, Albania Kosovo v Turkey
STANDING
( played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points)
Group A
France Sweden Bulgaria Netherlands Belarus Luxembourg
Group B
Switzerland Portugal Hungary Faroe Islands Latvia Andorra
Group C
Germany N Ireland Czech Republic Azerbaijan Norway San Marino
Group D
Serbia Ireland Wales Austria Georgia Moldova
Group E
Poland Montenegro Denmark Romania Armenia Kazakhstan
Group F
England Slovakia Slovenia Scotland Lithuania Malta
Group G
Spain Italy Israel Albania Macedonia Liechtenstein
Group H
Belgium Greece Bosnia Cyprus Estonia Gibraltar
Group I
Croatia Iceland Ukraine Turkey Finland Kosovo 5 4 1 0 10 3 13 5 3 1 1 10 3 10 5302 8 10 9 5212 8 6 7 5023 2 10 2 5014 6 12 1 5 5 0 0 10 3 15 5 4 0 1 19 3 12 5212 8 6 7 5122 2 8 5 5104 2 9 3 5014 1 13 1 5 5 0 0 20 1 15 5 3 1 1 10 2 10 5221 8 4 8 5212 3 8 7 5104 5 9 3 5005 1 23 0 5 3 2 0 12 6 11 5320 7 3 11 5140 8 4 7 5212 8 7 7 5023 4 8 2 5014 2 13 1 5 4 1 0 12 6 13 5 2 1 2 10 6 7 5212 7 5 7 5131 6 4 6 5203 6 10 6 5023 3 13 2 5410 8 0 13 5 3 0 2 10 3 9 5221 4 3 8 5212 7 8 7 5122 5 9 5 5005 2 13 0 5 4 1 0 19 2 13 5 4 1 0 13 4 13 5302 9 9 9 5203 4 8 6 5104 7 11 3 5005 1 19 0 5 4 1 0 11 1 13 5311 8 6 10 5221 7 4 8 5221 7 5 8 5014 3 8 1 5014 2 14 1
Note: Nine group winners qualify for the 2018 finals in Russia; eight best runnersup play off with four winners qualifying for the finals.