Nigeria’s Coach Salisu Yusuf expressed that his team will look to exploit the frailties of Morocco when they face off in the 2018 African Nations Championship final on Sunday.
Nigeria sealed qualification into the final by defeating Sudan 1-0 in the semi final setting up a meeting with the tournament’s hosts who also saw off Libya in 3-1 encounter.
Despite admitting that the host have a great squad following their performance so far, Salisu remains upbeat that his side can pull a shocker and stun the crowd inside Stade Mohammed V.
Both teams have emerged as the highest scoring sides in the championship with Morocco accounting a total of 12 goals and conceded only twice against Guinea and Libya. It should also be noted that eight of the goals scored is from the boots of striker Ayoub El-Kaabi who currently holds the highest goal scorer status in the history of the championship. Meanwhile, Nigeria has also managed quite a number of goals, scoring total of seven goals conceding just two as well.
“We have seen Morocco and they have seen us as well, Salisu said while responding to questions in a pre-match press conference.
“They have gone to do some home work on us and we have done same on their team. The Moroccans have a weakness just like every team, no team is 100% perfect in football. We will try to see how we can exploit those weaknesses and go with the trophy to Nigeria.
“Play against the host team is not usually easy, but what is important for us is to do the right thing on the field of play. It is eleven against eleven on the pitch, I think they can be beatable.
“They have good players and are very dangerous especially upfront. They are also good with dead ball situations and we will see how we can manage and curtail them.”
“It has been a great tournament for us as a team, we have played in all the centers and we are in good spirit.”
In the same vein, Moroccan coach Jamal Sellami also voiced his admiration for the Nigerian squad but remains optimistic about his side’s chances of ensuring that the trophy remains in Morocco.
“Obviously we are aiming to win the match, we hope that we achieve the result which is extremely important to us. A win will crown the effort we have put in.
“I think we deserve to win considering our course through the tournament. We are a strong team playing at home. We are full of confidence and our players are 100% ready.
“We respect our opponents, Nigeria, they have a good team and have some good players as well. It will be a tough game – we believe in our team and Inshallah we will be successful tomorrow.
“We still have much to improve and we hope that what we have worked on will bear fruit because we have great potentials looking at our record, and God willing we will come out victorious.”
