Nigeria 2 - 0 Benin
Nigeria v Benin: Preview
| Team Stat Comparison | ||
| Nigeria | Benin | |
| Matches Played | 3 | 3 |
| Table Position | 2 | 4 |
| Points | 4 | 0 |
| Goal Difference | 1 | -6 |
| Goals for * | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Goals against * | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Last 5 | L-W-D-L | L-L-L |
| Last 5 home | W-D-L | |
| Last 5 away | L | L-L-L |
| * Goals per match - home matches for home club and away matches for away club | ||
| · Club Stats: Nigeria | Benin | ||
| Last Five Matches in Competition | |
| Nigeria | Benin |
| @Ghana 2-1 | @Nigeria 2-0 |
| Benin 2-0 | @Ivory Coast 4-1 |
| Mali 0-0 | @Mali 1-0 |
| Ivory Coast 0-1 | |
| · Club Results: Nigeria | Benin | |
Updated: January 28, 2008, 10:36 AM ET
Nigeria head into their final group match at the African Nations Cup on Tuesday knowing they have to beat Benin to have any chance of qualifying for the quarter-finals.Berti Vogts' team have struggled so far in the competition, failing to score in their opening two games, and even a win may not be enough for the Super Eagles in Sekondi.
The German must pray Ivory Coast overcome Mali by a big margin in the other game and his side see off the Squirrels - and is already hoping for divine intervention.
"I know it's not enough to have just one point from two games,'' said Vogts, whose side lost 1-0 to the Ivorians, before a goalless draw with Mali.
"We now have only one hope and that is the Ivory Coast and God.''
Along with Sudan, Nigeria are also only one of two sides not to have yet found the back of the net and the coach admits it is a major worry.
He added: "The team have played well but we lack that final pass. To win we have to score. Our players tried but our final ball was poor.''
And Vogts believes the continued absence on Nwankwo Kanu, who has a knee injury, is a concern.
"I've said before the absence of Nwankwo Kanu is a big blow to the side. We missed his vision and control of the game,'' he said.
The lack of goals is also troubling captain Mikel John Obi.
The Chelsea star said: "We've just been unlucky and the goals haven't been coming. That's something we'll have to work on. We're still in the tournament so we'll have to see what happens.''
Benin go into the game on the back of two straight defeats which have already dashed their hopes of progressing.
They went down 1-0 to Mali in the first game before a 4-1 hiding by Ivory Coast, but their coach Reinhard Fabisch is nevertheless looking to end the competition on a high.
He said: "We played well against Mali. In Ivory Coast we played future African champions with motivated World Cup players like Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou.
"You can not compare a Mercedes Benz to a bike. You saw the difference between second tier professionals and world class players.
"We will try again to play a good game against Nigeria.''
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
| Ivory Coast | 3 | |
| Mali | 0 | FT |
| Nigeria | 2 | |
| Benin | 0 | FT |
