The chase for the 2015 African Cup of Nations will take its next step on Wednesday. Two teams attempting to qualify for the tournament will do battle in a match between Nigeria and South Africa. The contest scheduled for 12 p.m. ET will be held at Akwa Ibom Stadium in Uyo and can be live streamed here free. Additional TV coverage can be found on beIN Sports.
What They're Saying
AFCON Senate President David Mark (via All Africa): "They [Nigeria] certainly have to beat them [South Africa]. We don't have a choice and our prayers will be for them. We will give them all our support. Their next match is tomorrow [Wednesday]. We had almost given up, but somehow, I think they managed to show the light at the end of the tunnel. Very dim light at the end of the tunnel."
South Africa head coach Ephraim Mashaba (via All Africa): "Nigerians don't want to lose against South Africa. That alone will make this match a tough one and we also have the assignment to break the hoodoo that we always lose when we play against them.
"We have to go out there positive and believe we will do well," Mashaba added. "We are defending well, but there are still some things we need to do. Especially in the middle of the park where we are not picking opponents tight and that will cause us problems against a team like Nigeria, which is very good in that area."
Tactical Preview
Player to Watch: Nigeria's Ikechukwu Uche has one goal in tournament qualification. In nine appearances with Villarreal, the 30-year-old has three goals and an average of 2.1 shots.
Nigeria's Projected Lineup (4-3-3): Enyeama; Efe, Omeruo, Egwuekwe, Oshaniwa; Onazi, Lawal, Mikel; Uche, Musa, Emenike
South Africa's Projected Lineup (4-4-2): Keet; Mathoho, Mashamaite, Khumalo, Ngcongca; Manyisa, Furman, Letsholonyane, Masango; Rantie, Ndulula
Note: Credit all statistics to officially licensed data from Opta Sports (via WhoScored).
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