The Super Eagles are looking to win their first African Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament in almost 10 years. Nigerian football fan TheFPLManual shares his insights on the team and thier fantasy prospects in RealFevr’s AFCON Fantasy game.

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Preview

I’m a Nigerian by nationality, born and raised here in “Naija.” Usually, I only talk about fantasy football, but since I made a few threads about AFCON Fantasy, I thought I could speak more about my country before talking about our fantasy assets. Now I will be speaking on the following matters:

• Recent changes in management
• Predicted lineup
• Latest injuries and those players unavailable
• Thoughts on our chances in AFCON

Note: I will be using a lot of terms like “we”, “us” and “our” in place of Super Eagles and Nigeria.

 

Change in Management

About four weeks ago, The NFF (Nigeria Football Federation) gave Gernot Rohr, the former manager of the Super Eagles, the sack. Prior to then, Rohr was in charge for five years and helped us qualify for the World Cup in 2018, took us to third place in AFCON 2019 while also setting us up for another AFCON this year.

Nigerians criticized the Franco-German coach greatly due to recent upsetting results like the 4-4 game where we drew despite having a 4-0 lead at HT against Sierra Leone and the loss to the Central Africa Republic in the World Cup Qualifiers. However, it seems like the NFF chairman Amaju Pinnick had a soft spot for him as Nigerians wanted him out after the loss against Central Africa Republic but he was given time to top the Group C table in the World Cup Qualifiers, putting us in a much better position to qualify in the playoffs.

Later, he was handed the sack when the NFF said Rohr “lost control of the locker room” and “has created a toxic environment.” This vacancy led to the re-appointment of Former Super Eagles player and caretaker Austin Eguavoen to take us to Cameroon with plans on winning the competition. Meanwhile, Jose Peseiro has been appointed as the new Head Coach of Nigeria. The Portuguese has a handsome CV that included him working side by side with Jose Mourinho during his time at Chelsea, but he will be an observer for the AFCON taking charge later in March.

 

Play Style under Eguavoen

Under Rohr, we played in a 4-2-3-1/4-4-2 formation and sometimes a 4-3-3 depending on the game. Our most used formation was the 4-4-2 with Iheanacho and Osimhen upfront, while in a 4-2-3-1 formation, Iheanacho plays as the shadow striker behind. I’m not sure which formation we use under Eguavoen, but it’s fair to assume he sticks to a 4-4-2 formation.

 

❎ Players unavailable: Unfortunately, Osimhen will be a big miss as he recovers from his last injury.

🤕 Injuries: Leon Balogun’s injury rules him out of the competition as Semi Ajayi was called up to replace him. Awaziem has been out due to a hamstring injury for a few weeks as Nigeria sweat over his fitness.

❓ Doubts: Ighalo might not be released by his current Saudi club’s owners, but the manager is positive Ighalo will join the squad soon. Eguavoen will need the aid of the last top goalscorer of AFCON 2019 (5 goals) to help bolster the Super Eagles front line.

 

I think that is a brief summary of the Nigerian football national team. My thoughts on our chances in AFCON are that we have a good squad even though we are missing a lot of key players and a few who their respective clubs did not release. I believe we have a good chance of progressing into the competition’s latter stages.

Can we win it? As maybe a biased fan, I am confident we can, but as a realist, I think the chances are pretty slim for us looking at the other nations like Algeria, Senegal etc. Many key elements are missing, like Balogun in defence, Osimhen upfront, Awaziem could be out. The defence does not look quite solid. Our AFCON winning chances are pretty bleak, but it is not my opinion that will win us the competition.

I’m confident the Super Eagles are preparing their hardest to prove the doubters wrong as we face Egypt in our next match on the 11th of January. It is a tough group, but we will qualify and go all the way to win it. I stand firmly behind the Super Eagles, and I’m proud to be a Nigerian!

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Nigeria National Football Team Profile

🦅 Nickname: The Super Eagles

🌍 World rank: 36th

Nigeria have won the Africa Cup of Nations three times (1980, 1994 and 2013). They have finished as runner-ups three times and recently finished third in the last AFCON back in 2019.

 

🗺️ Road to AFCON: Nigeria finished unbeaten in Group L of the AFCON Qualifiers scoring 14 goals and conceding seven times. The Super Eagles are also in decent form as they topped Group C in the World Cup qualifiers scoring nine goals while conceding just three.

⚽ Style of Football: One of the primary reasons that the last manager got sacked was due to the fact Nigeria never really established a unique style of football. It could be possessive football today, then counter-attack tomorrow and high-press in another game, which frustrated the fans. However, the Super Eagles seem to thrive more on the counter, with Osimhen and Kelechi making runs behind the opposition defence as they are both very quick players. This has been evident in most of the big wins Nigeria get against lower-ranked nations but not really against the big African nations.

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Nigeria Predicted Lineup

Overall, this is how I think Nigeria could lineup based on my assumption. The team usually lines up in a 4-4-2 formation.

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Nigeria’s AFCON Fantasy Prospects

Below is a preview of the best fantasy assets from Nigeria in RealFevr AFCON Fantasy.

💸 Most expensive asset: Iheanacho (€11M)

💎 Potential gem: Simon (€7M)

💰 Budget Player: Sanusi (€5M)

Osimhen has been a key asset for Nigeria in the AFCON Qualifiers scoring five goals and was the top goalscorer of the Qualifiers but will miss out due to injury. This gives an opportunity to other forwards like T. Awoniyi (7.5m). The in-form Union Berlin striker will want to fight for a place in the team.

Recent reports on Awaziem (€5M) states that “Awaziem is recuperating from a hamstring injury which has kept him out for about three weeks before the camp opened and the minimum time range the injury takes to heal properly is six to seven weeks.”

Moses Simon (€7M) is a potential budget gem as he is on a majority of set-pieces that he shares with Iwobi (€7.5M) and could rack up a few assists during the contest. Another player to watch out for should be Kelechi Iheanacho, as he should be on pen duty in Osimhen’s absence.

Another update says that Odion Ighalo cannot represent Nigeria due to having a “no AFCON clause” in his contract, and Cyriel Dessers is set to replace him. This increases the chances of Ahmed Musa (€8.5M) starting for the team.

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Summary

In summary, Nigeria play a counter-attacking style of football but sometimes have a lapse in concentration when good results start coming in. The defence is very shaky at the moment but The Super Eagles have a lot of strong players and tend to be physical most times, and this could be an advantage against a very high press team like Egypt. Personally, I won’t be picking any Nigerian players for matchday one, especially in the defence, but the attacking players could come good later from MD 2-3 with Kelechi (11M) up front. This also gives us insight into what formation/group of players are the Interim boss’s favorite. Their first game is against Egypt, and other group opponents in Group D include Sudan and Guinea-Bissau.

 

That brings me to the end of this article. Please like and share for other AFCON Fantasy managers to read. Don’t forget to join our little mini-league with this token – 66a73908. You can also lookup my previous article on Egypt and get more insight into their assets for your fantasy team.

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You can find additional AFCON 2021 Fantasy resources here.

Egypt are the most successful nation in AFCON’s history, with seven championships to their name. Talisman Mohamed Salah will look to guide the team to victory again as he hopes to win his first major trophy with Egypt. Our fantasy expert TheFPLManual analyzes their team and the fantasy prospects in RealFevr AFCON Fantasy in this article.

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Egypt National Football Team Profile

🦅 Nickname: The Pharaohs

🌍 World rank: 45th

Egypt previously hosted the African Cup of Nations in 1959, 1974, 1986 and 2006, claiming seven AFCON titles so far. The Pharaohs are the most successful team in the history of the AFCON, and they are the only team to win it three times in a row (2006, 2008 and 2010). No other nation in the tournament’s history has been able to break that record.

However, in the last two tournaments, The Pharaohs were runners-up in 2017 and only reached the Round of 16 in 2019. Nonetheless, Egypt are still tipped as one of the favorites to win it this year.

 

🗺️ Road to AFCON: Egypt were unbeaten in Group G of the AFCON qualifiers scoring 12 goals and conceding only times in six games (3 Wins, 3 Draws). Recently, Egypt also finished unbeaten in the World Cup Qualifiers scoring 10 goals while conceding only four goals.

⚽ Style of Football: The Pharaohs play a high press style of football, sometimes send in mixed crosses to the forwards and are very effective from set-pieces. Now I won’t go as far as to call it gegenpressing football, but it has similarities to how Liverpool plays.

@fplHazem pointed out that, “A. Tawfik on the right side of the defence is a good pick as well, he’s been good going forward recently and seem to be developing chemistry with Salah”.. looks more like a Trent-Salah type relationship to me, and you all know how we want Trent in our FPL Teams.

When it comes to set-pieces, @AbdOsuPerMaN illustrated that “In general, Egypt’s defence is one to consider, however when it comes to attacking it’s the one and only FPL’s best player this season Mo Salah who is the main key player as he is the top scorer of the current team and also on penalty duties, as well as, set-pieces from corners.”

@fplHazem also picks out El Said (€6M) as a potential gem who is on set-pieces and second on penalties as well.

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Egypt Predicted Lineup

These are combined predicted lineups from both contributors. Both agree that Egypt use more of a 4-2-3-1 formation with El-Said (€6M) playing as a Central Attacking Midfielder (CAM). However, it seems the Pharaohs can also switch to a 4-3-3 formation with El-Sulya playing in the Defensive Midfielder (DM) role.

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Egypt’s AFCON Fantasy Prospects

Below is a preview of the best fantasy assets for Egypt in RealFevr AFCON Fantasy.

💸 Most expensive asset: Mohammed Salah (€13M)

💎 Potential gem: El-Said (€6M)

💰 Best Budget Player: A. Tawfik (€5.5M)

Egyptian skipper Mohamed Salah (€13M) is one to have going forward in your team. The In-form forward has scored 45 goals in 74 caps for Egypt and will be a very popular pick among Afcon Fantasy managers. So don’t get left behind and let Salah E.O haunt you here as well!

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Summary

Egypt are also a very attacking-minded team who are set on going all the way to the final. Although a lot of their game plan seems to rely on Salah, they still have a good range of fantasy assets to pick from. Their first game is against Nigeria as they launch Group D with other group opponents, Sudan and Guinea-Bissau.

 

That brings us to the end of this article. I will like to thank @fplHazem and @AbdOsuPerMaN who assisted me in this writeup, its thanks to them I’m able to prepare this thread accurately and hopefully without fault. Appreciate the help guys!

I hope you enjoyed the article and can gather the necessary information you need for your teams. Remember to like and share for other AFCON Managers to read as well. Don’t forget to join our little mini-league with this token – 66a73908. You can also lookup my previous article on Tunisia and get more insight into their assets for your fantasy team.

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You can find additional AFCON 2021 Fantasy resources here.

For his second AFCON Fantasy article, FPL Manual takes a look at AFCON 2019’s semi-finalists Tunisia and their fantasy prospects in Realfevr.

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Tunisia National Football Team Profile

🦅 Nickname: The Eagles of Carthage

🌍 World rank: 30th

Tunisia have won the AFCON title once in 2004 after which the Carthage Eagles have not missed a single edition of AFCON setting a new record in 2020 as the nation that has qualified for the most consecutive times in a row with 15. They were also the semi-finalists in AFCON 2019 and will try to do better in Cameroon 2022.

 

🗺️ Road to AFCON: Tunisia finished undefeated on top of Group J in the AFCON Qualifiers scoring 14 goals and conceding just five goals in six games (5 wins, 1 draw), their recent form continued as in their last five World Cup Qualifiers, they conceded only two goals while scoring eight times.

⚽ Style of Football: It is fair to say that the Tunisia attack is a “license to kill” ferocious frontline as they pay no respect to the opposition defence. For the Carthage Eagles, the attack is the best form of defence. They play a rapid high-tempo game, and most of their midfielders get involved with the goalscoring. Even box-to-box midfielder and Tunisian player of the year Skhiri (€5M) and Slimane (€5M) can score from range. Due to this, forward Jaziri (€6.5M) tends to be quiet often except in a high scoring but this system of play favors the 30-year-old talisman Khazri (€8M) who is on penalties and set-pieces. The Tunisian Captain is currently second for the all-time top scorer for Tunisia with 22 goals in 65 caps.

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Tunisia Predicted Lineup

Tunisia’s preferred style of play is in a 4-3-3 formation. A very key defender for Tunisia, Meriah, was omitted from the final squad due to his recent injury, so Dräger could get that LCB slot in his absence. Dräger (€5.5m) and Bronn (€5m) are solid defenders who could be a threat from attacking set-pieces.

The most nailed players for Tunisia are:

• Khazri (€8M)
• Skhiri (€5M)
• Jaziri (€6.5M)
• Bronn (€5M)
• F.B Mustapha (€5.5M)

Rotation risk: Khaoui (€5.5M) and Laidouni (€4.5M) often rotate with Romdhane (€4.5M) and Slimane (€5M). Khaoui is an excellent asset that I could consider if Tunisia progresses further, so he is on my watchlist.

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Tunisia’s AFCON Fantasy Prospects

Here is a Preview of Tunisia’s first-team assets in RealFevr AFCON Fantasy. It is worth noting that all players here are priced at €8M or below, so Tunisia’s players could help redistribute funds to premium assets.

💸 Most expensive asset: Wahbi Khazri (€8M)

💎 Potential gem: Ellyes Skhiri (€5M)

💰 Budget Player: Hamza Mathlouthi (€4.5M)

F.B Mustapha seems to be a rotation risk and could get rotated. Jaziri is also out due to Covid, and Touzghar (€6m) is a potential replacement for him. So it is best to stay up to date with the latest team news.

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Summary

Tunisia’s profile speaks for itself, but their first game is against a strong defensive Mali side who don’t concede much, so it will be an interesting game to watch as a neutral as we all witness “an unstoppable force meet an immovable object.” I still think they will top Group F consisting of Mali, Gambia and Mauritania.

 

That brings us to the end of this article. Don’t forget to join our little mini-league with this token – 66a73908. You can also lookup Tunisia’s group rivals Mali and get more insight into their assets for your fantasy team.

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You can find additional AFCON 2021 Fantasy resources here.

AFCON Fantasy is back after a two-year hiatus, and fantasy expert Wale aka FPL Manual, shares his thoughts on the first country from his team preview series – Mali.

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Mali Team Profile

📖 Name: Mali

🦅 Nickname: The Eagles

🌍 World ranking: 53rd

The Eagles have never won the Africa Cup of Nations. However, their best result at the tournament was Runners-up in 1972, losing 3-2 to Congo. Mali have qualified for the tournament 12 times in total, finishing as runners-up once, third twice, and fourth three times.

 

🗺️ Road to AFCON: Mali finished top of their Group Qualifiers of Group A, scoring 10 goals and only conceding four times in six games (4 wins, 1 Draw and 1 loss). From these stats, it is fair to say Mali are a “defence first” kind of team who tend to protect their defence first and score later. This also corroborates their recent form in the World Cup Qualifiers, where they conceded no goals in all matches throughout 2021.

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Mali Predicted Lineup

I manage to build up how Mali might shape up going forward. The coach tends to use a 4-3-3/4-2-3-1 formation, and Ibrahima Koné is their top scorer in most friendlies. However, it seems El Bilal Toure takes the pens when on the pitch.

They play very well on the counter with Djenepo and M. Traoré on the flanks and also play very compact with Haidara and Camara as the two holding midfielders. Bissouma return, however, could put Camara as a rotation risk

The most nailed players here are:

• Boubakar Kouyate
• Charles Traoré
• H. Traoré (C)
• Djenepo
• Noss Traoré

Rotation risk: Malouda Traoré tends to rotate with Doumbia from the bench, F. Sacko with Fofana and Kone with El Bilal Toure. Read about my thoughts on Mali from a fantasy perspective below to learn about how this affects us as fantasy managers.

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Mali’s AFCON Fantasy Prospects

Here is a Preview of Mali’s first-team assets in RealFevr AFCON Fantasy. Note that they are priced below 8M, which could be a cheaper way to fill in those premium assets we want.

💸 Most expensive: Malouda Traore (€7.5M)

💰 Budget players: Mounkoro (€4.5M)

There seems to be a slight rotation between Mounkoro and Diawarra, who are both priced at €4.5M. Still, I think Mounkoro gets the nod as the no.1 goalie Mali’s first game is against Tunisia, who are also in excellent form, and both have been placed in Group F along with Gambia and Mauritania.

 

That brings us to the end of this article. Feel free to like and share with other managers to help them make decisions. You can join my little Mini-League with this token – 66a73908.

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You can find additional AFCON 2021 Fantasy resources here.