Oliseh’s men dismissed Niger 2-0 in September and the
coach is likely to experiment further in another non-competitive
fixture on Thursday evening
The Super Eagles will square up with the winner between Djibouti and Swaziland, while Congo await the winner between Seychelles and Burundi in the second round qualifiers for the 2018 Fifa World Cup in Russia.
Aside from visa hitches that have prevented four of the six Nigeria Professional Football League stars to make the trip for this encounter, coach Oliseh’s face-off with goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama over the team's captaincy has distracted much of the attention going into this encounter.
For Florent Ibengé’s men who are ranked 60th in the world, the battle of Vise is more than a friendly – as they hope to end Nigeria’s dominance over them. A brace from Obinna Nsofor and strikes from Peter Utaka, Osas Idehen and Chinedu Ezimorah ensured the Leopards were tamed 5-2 in their last fixture against the three-time African champions in Abuja.
And to achieve this, the attacking trio of Yannick Bolasie, Cédric Mabwati and Jordan Botaka have been called upon for this non-competitive encounter.
Not minding the in-house hubbub, Oliseh will hope for a display of character on Thursday night, and it is certain he would stick with Ahmed Musa as captain while Carl Ikeme remains in goal ahead of Enyeama whose days in the national team seem numbered.
One man to watch out for in this game is Odion Ighalo. The Watford man has been in fine goal-scoring form for the Hornets this season, and will be aiming for his second international strike against the central African team.
The game kicks of 7pm Nigeria time.
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