Super Eagles double-header 2023 AFCON qualifiers against Guinea Bissau fixed for September may now be postponed till next year, according to officials.
This postponement will follow the CAF decision for the 2023 AFCON to be hosted by Cote d’Ivoire in January 2024 and not June 2023.
The shift of the qualifiers in September will also allow for the five African teams for the 2022 World Cup to prepare adequately for the Mundial in Qatar, which kicks off in November.
Senegal Coach Aliou Cisse has already asked for such a window.
Should the qualifiers be shifted, Nigeria will have to arrange friendlies most likely against World Cup-bound teams to fill in the the September window.
The Super Eagles top Group A of the AFCON qualifiers with six points after two rounds of matches.
They could even book their passage to the final tournament with a home win against Guinea Bissau were the qualifiers to be played in September.
Sierra Leone and Sao Tome and Principe are the other teams in the group with the top two teams advancing to the tournament proper.
Meanwhile, Super Eagles new Portuguese Head Coach, Jose Peseiro, has described the non qualification of Nigeria for the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar as an unfortunate accident.
In March at the Abuja stadium, Ghana pipped arch-rivals Nigeria on the away goals rule to qualify for the World Cup after the crucial second leg of the playoff ended one-all.
Peseiro insisted that his Super Eagles are better than the Black Stars and ought to be the ones at Qatar 2022.
“I have a team with players who play in England, Italy, France, Spain, but unfortunately they didn’t beat Ghana to go to the World Cup,” Peseiro said in an interview.
“But I think it was an accident, I think Nigeria are better than Ghana.”
