The chances of Nigeria making it to next year’s Africa Cup of Nations have been further dented, following a bold declaration by Guinea-Bissau’s coach, Emiliano Té that his team will continue to advance during all their subsequent matches in order to qualify.
Sports247 reports that Té is basking in delight and talking tough, after his side smashed highly favoured Nigeria 3-0 on Tuesday in Bissau during their second match of the AFCON 2027 qualifiers and the result kept them top of the table with six points.
Té, who played active football as a midfielder and is a Guinea-Bissau ex-international, but has Portuguese citizenship, declared emphatically that he will do everything to ensure The Wild Dogs do not slow down, but will keep on improving tactically and physically.
His declaration comes as a huge threat to Nigeria’s ambition of picking up from Tuesday’s setback, as they aim to get four straight wins in all of their remaining fixtures during the qualifiers, including the last game of the series at home versus The Wild Dogs.
Eagles’ coach, Eric Sekou Chelle admitted his side disappointed their fans and country with their heavy defeat on Tuesday, but quickly interjected that ‘it is not the end,’ believing they can turn the tide around and put things back into their favour by winning all the remaining fixtures.
Chelle also spoke repeatedly about putting Guinea-Bissau in ‘the same condition’ they gave Nigeria on Tuesday, but Té has responded gamely by warning it will take more than rhetoric to stop his squad’s heroic surge to the 2027 AFCON in East Africa.
The gaffer, who played most of his career with clubs in Portugal and first handled the national squad as a quickfire replacement during a group match 1-0 loss to Egypt at the 2021 AFCON in Cameroon, is now fully in charge and he is determined to prevent Nigeria from pulling off a revival.
He affirmed that The Wild Dogs will continue to excel with a proper understanding of tactical approaches, varying strategies and physical efforts that the crew considers applicable against each opponent in order to consolidate on their shock 3-0 victory.
Té expressed satisfaction with how The Djurtus followed his instructions to the letter against the Eagles at Estádio Nacional 24 de Setembro in Bissau, as they got a second win on the bounce, which kept them top of Group L, heading into next month’s home and away fixtures versus Madagascar.
While Nigerian fans will hope to see Guinea-Bissau lose one of those games, and then drop the last fixture to the Super Eagles in Uyo come March 2027, Té declared with affirmation that he and his players will not take their feet off the throttle en route to next year’s AFCON.
“It represents a journey to reach the African Cup of Nations. The victory against Nigeria illustrates that the national team is performing effectively and shall continue to advance in forthcoming matches.
“Every game has its own story. You need to play tactical football, create better scoring opportunities, and always believe that you can do more and better, regardless of the opponent,” Té pointed out.
Sports247 reports further that Tuesday’s result gives all bragging rights to Guinea-Bissau ahead of the AFCON 2027 qualifiers’ resumption in November, knowing that only one of them will make it to the finals, since Tanzania have already picked an automatic slot as one of the first ever three co-hosts.
