Super Eagles are set to meet Gambia or Tunisia in the round 16, a game that could mark the end of the journey for either of the teams
By Uzor Odigbo
If the Super Eagles are able to pick at least one point in their last group game with Guinea Bissau on Wednesday, they will be confirmed as the eternal Group D leaders of the Africa Cup of Nations 2021.
Being the group leaders, they will remain in the former CAF president (Issa Hayatou) home town, Garoua for their Round of 16 duel.
At that stage, the Super Eagles are to meet any of the best third-placed teams from Group B, E and F.
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After two matchdays, the third-placed team in Group B is Malawi that has three points and will face second-placed Senegal on Tuesday.
Sierra Leone in Group E was able to scrape a point off group leaders Cote d’Ivoire on Sunday. That takes their total as at Matchday 2 to two which may not be enough for them to pick one of the best third-placed tickets except Malawi crumbles in Group B and Tunisia fails in Group F.
Tunisia who had a shocker in their opening game bounced back in Group F after a total defeat of Mauritania on Sunday.
Having a ‘soft’ fixture with the Gambia on Thursday gives the Tunisians a huge possibility of their moving to the top of the table, thus averting a likely clash with Nigeria’s Super Eagles.
In that event, Gambia or Mali, both currently with four points each, may drop to the third position and be the Super Eagles’ Round of 16 opponents.
Mali are likely to beat already-eliminated Mauritania and top the group while Tunisia are possible runners-up