Guinea are talking tough ahead of a final Nations Cup qualifier against Nigeria with coach Michel Dussuyer insisting the pressure is on the Eagles to win.
The Syli Stars have led Group B from the start of the qualifying campaign for the 2012 Nations Cup and remain three points clear of star-studded Nigeria on 13 points going into the final round of matches on October 8 in Abuja.
The eventual winners of Group B are guaranteed an automatic passage to the tournament proper in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea in January and Dussuyer said his team are in good stead.
“It’s a good thing that we are still ahead of a team who have qualified for the Nations Cup regularly for the past 25 years. That will put them under pressure,” said the former Benin coach.
“We are yet to qualify but our destiny is in our hands. The match in Abuja will determine our fate.
“It’s a game you dream of.
“But again, the pressure is on Nigeria, not on Guinea, to win this match.”
Guinea star Djoulde Bah, who salvaged a point for his team away in Madagascar during the qualifying series, was even more forthright in saying the Syli Stars will beat Nigeria in Abuja.
“We will get the three points in Nigeria,” Bah boasted.
Dussuyer, who took over Guinea last year after he led Benin to the Nations Cup in Angola, has refused to release the list of 30 players he has pencilled down for the game.
He has rather, said he will soon announce the final 23 players for the match in Abuja.
Guinea are currently led by Turkey-based defender Kamil Zayatte, while former skipper Pascal Feindouno staged a tentative comeback in the last game against Ethiopia.
The general secretary of Guinea Football Federation, Feguifoot, Blasco Bary, has disclosed that the team will fly directly to Abuja on a chartered flight for this all-important encounter, so as to avoid any hostile reception by the host team. It is also believed that they will delay their arrival till the very last moment.
The country’s government has also promised the team a huge financial reward to get a result in Nigeria. Both players and officials were paid handsomely for beating Ethiopia at home earlier this month to get a foot into next year’s Nations Cup.
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