Sierra Leone Set for Super Eagles Showdown in Abuja As 25 Stars Listed for AFCON Qualifier

• Nigeria vs Sierra Leone will go down at the Moshood Abiola Stadium on June 9 and the Lone Stars are already preparing
• Coach John Keister has named a 25-man squad to execute both games as AFCON qualifiers are set to kick-off
• Former England and ex-Liverpool defender Stephen Caulker has been invited to lead the team against the three-time AFCON champions

Ahead of their 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Nigeria and Guinea-Bissau, the Sierra Leone Football Association has released a 25-man squad to execute both games.

Nigeria will host the Lone Stars at the Moshood Abiola Stadium in Abuja on June 9 and coach John Keister has named former Liverpool defender Stephen Caulker for the encounter.

A number of Sierra Leonean descent who were born and trained in Europe also make the list, but Issa Kallon was not invited, Soccernet reports.

It was gathered that team captain Caulker is also in doubt for the massive encounters as he missed a number of matches for his Turkish outfit Gaziantep.

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Recall that Caulker was impressive at the 2021 AFCON tournament in Cameroon where they played a goalless draw with Algeria in the opening game and then a 2-2 draw with Ivory Coast.

Sierra Leone were then knocked out of the tournament after losing their final group game to Equatorial Guinea 1-0. They are hoping to return to the competition.

Nigeria last faced Sierra Leone at the last AFCON qualifiers in 2020 and played out a disappointing 4-4 draw at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City before a goalless stalemate in Freetown.

Aghahowa laments Super Eagles’ World Cup miss

Meanwhile, ex-international Julius Aghahowa has rued Nigeria’s World Cup miss and has urged the Nigeria Football Federation to give new coach Jose Peseiro time.

Peseiro was announced as the new Super Eagles technical adviser as he will be assisted by Nigerian coaches including Finidi George, Salisu Yusuf, Usman Abdallah and Ike Shorunmu.

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The new technical crew replaced Augustine Eguavoen led coaches who failed to lead the national team to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

John Fashanu faults NFF over Peseiro’s appointment

Sports Brief earlier reported that former England and Wimbledon striker, John Fashanu, says he is very disappointed that the Nigeria Football Federation appointed Jose Peseiro as the new Super Eagles coach.

The Nigerian descent expressed doubts over the ability of the Portuguese tactician to handle the Super Eagles saying the next six months will show what he meant.

The NFF announced on Sunday that Peseiro has been officially appointed the coach of the Super Eagles with immediate effect.