Guinea-Bissau vs Super Eagles: Preview, team news, h2h & more as Nigeria hunts Djurtus in Bissau

⚽ Guinea-Bissau vs Nigeria
Competition	AFCON 2027 Qualifying, Group L, Matchday 2
Kickoff	Tuesday, September 29, 2026
Venue	Estadio Nacional 24 de Setembro, Bissau
Best Bet	Nigeria to Win @ 1.64
Nigeria have won three of their last four meetings against Guinea-Bissau, scoring five goals to one across the period.

Nigeria’s Super Eagles will travel to Bissau on Tuesday for their second Group L fixture of the AFCON 2027 qualifying campaign against the Djurtus of Guinea-Bissau, Afrik-Foot reports.

Eric Chelle’s side opened the campaign with a hard-fought 2-1 comeback win over Madagascar in Uyo on September 25, 2026, recovering from a 16th-minute deficit through goals from two debutants.

George Ilenikhena, a 20-year-old Al Ittihad forward who switched his international allegiance from France’s youth setup to Nigeria, equalized in first half stoppage time with an assist from Alex Iwobi.

Moses Usor then completed the turnaround in the 65th minute, just four minutes after replacing Samuel Chukwueze as a substitute.

The victory was significant, but the manner of it exposed defensive vulnerabilities that Guinea-Bissau will look to exploit in front of their own supporters at the Estadio Nacional 24 de Setembro.

Nigeria’s broader context adds urgency to this fixture beyond the qualifying table.

The Super Eagles were eliminated from 2026 World Cup qualification by DR Congo on penalties in the African playoff final, making the road to the 2027 AFCON the primary vehicle for rebuilding confidence in the national team under Chelle.

Guinea-Bissau, ranked 132nd in the world to Nigeria’s 26th, enter this match riding a wave of unexpected momentum after beating Tanzania 2-0 away from home in Matchday 1.

Franculino Dju opened the scoring in the 33rd minute before Mama Balde doubled the lead in the 58th, handing the Djurtus their first competitive victory in five matches.

Prior to that Tanzania result, Emiliano Te’s side had endured a run of four games without a win, conceding eight goals while scoring just once across that stretch.

The Group L dynamic is unusual: Tanzania have already qualified for the 2027 finals as tournament co-hosts (alongside Kenya and Uganda), meaning Nigeria, Guinea-Bissau and Madagascar are effectively competing for a single remaining qualification spot.

Both sides currently sit on three points, with Guinea-Bissau top on goal difference (+2 to Nigeria’s +1).

Head-to-Head: Guinea-Bissau vs Nigeria

The historical record tilts heavily in Nigeria’s favour, with the Super Eagles winning three of the four meetings between the sides since January 2022.

Guinea-Bissau’s sole victory came in March 2023, when Brest forward Balde scored the only goal in a 1-0 win in Lagos during the previous AFCON qualifying cycle.

Nigeria responded days later with a 1-0 win of their own in Bissau, Super Eagles winger Moses Simon netting the decisive goal.

Super Eagles of Nigeria players arrive for their final training session before their game against Guinea Bissau
•#supereagles #nigeria #afconqualifiers pic.twitter.com/1RtrWidvOt

— Dr. Kelechi Anyikude (@KelechiAFC) September 28, 2026

The most recent meeting, at the 2024 AFCON group stage in Abidjan, ended 1-0 to Nigeria through an own goal by Guinea-Bissau defender Opa Sangante in the 36th minute.

Before that, Umar Sadiq and William Troost-Ekong scored in a 2-0 Nigerian win at the 2022 AFCON in Cameroon.

Notably, Guinea-Bissau have never beaten Nigeria in Bissau within this four-match sample, and their four AFCON finals appearances have all ended at the group stage.

Team News: Guinea-Bissau vs Nigeria Injuries & Predicted XIs

The biggest absence is Victor Osimhen, who was not called up to this qualifying window at all after suffering a right adductor muscle strain while playing for Galatasaray against Basaksehir.

Coventry City forward Taiwo Awoniyi was drafted in as the Super Eagles star’s direct replacement, earning his first international involvement in almost two years.

Chelle has 24 players in camp in Bissau and is expected to maintain the same 4-4-2 shape that started against Madagascar, though Moses Usor and Moses Simon could earn starting spots after their decisive second half impact.

Guinea-Bissau head coach Emiliano Te has no confirmed absentees, though left back Adramane Cassama was substituted in the 56th minute against Tanzania without official confirmation of whether the change was fitness-related.

Guinea-Bissau	Nigeria
Cassama – doubt (substituted 56′ vs Tanzania, unconfirmed reason)	Osimhen – OUT (right adductor strain, not called up)

Star Player Comparison: Lookman vs Mama Balde

Ademola Lookman Forward – Atletico Madrid	Stat	Mama Balde Winger – Brest
11	Int’l Goals	1 (this campaign)
44	Int’l Caps	37
2024 CAF POTY	Honours	Taca de Portugal 17/18

Lookman, the Atletico Madrid forward, remains Nigeria’s most dangerous attacking weapon in the absence of the Galatasaray striker.

The 2024 African Footballer of the Year carries 11 goals in 44 Super Eagles appearances into this fixture.

On the opposite flank, Balde represents Guinea-Bissau’s primary attacking outlet, having already contributed a goal in this qualifying campaign alongside two goals and two assists in Ligue 1 last season for Brest.

The Managers: Guinea-Bissau vs Nigeria

Emiliano Te (Guinea-Bissau)

Te was promoted internally in mid-2025 following the departure of former West Ham and Fulham defender Luis Boa Morte by mutual consent.

The 2-0 away win over Tanzania in his first competitive match of this qualifying cycle represents a significant step, though his overall record since taking charge includes a four-game winless stretch across friendlies and World Cup qualifiers.

Eric Chelle (Nigeria)

The Franco-Malian coach guided the Super Eagles to the 2025 AFCON semi-finals, where they lost on penalties to hosts Morocco, but the failure to qualify for the 2026 World Cup has kept pressure on his position throughout the year.

His tactical adjustments in the second half against Madagascar, introducing Usor and Simon for Chukwueze and Adams at the hour mark, demonstrated the kind of in-game reading that his critics have questioned.

Tactical Preview: Guinea-Bissau vs Nigeria

Both teams deployed a 4-4-2 in Matchday 1, setting up a mirror-image contest where the midfield battle will likely determine the outcome.

Wilfred Ndidi, the Besiktas midfielder who won seven duels against Madagascar, will be tasked with disrupting the link between Dalcio and Renato Nhaga, the creative pair who orchestrated Guinea-Bissau’s build-up play in their win over Tanzania.

Nigeria’s width on the right, where Ola Aina overlaps beyond Chukwueze, poses the biggest threat to Guinea-Bissau’s defensive structure, particularly if Sangante is drawn out of his central position to cover.

The Lookman-Iwobi connection between the lines, which produced the assist for Ilenikhena’s debut goal, is likely to be the Super Eagles’ primary creative mechanism in the final third.

Conditions could prove a factor: temperatures of 31 degrees Celsius are forecast for the afternoon kick-off, potentially sapping energy from the travelling squad who had just 48 hours between the Madagascar game and their departure from Uyo to Bissau.

The Naija Slip: Guinea-Bissau vs Nigeria Prediction and Tips

Nigeria’s squad depth and the favourable H2H record point firmly toward an away win, though their defensive shakiness in the opening half against Madagascar suggests the Djurtus can find the net at least once at home.

The 48-hour turnaround between fixtures and Bissau’s afternoon heat add uncertainty that makes a clean sheet for either side unlikely.

Score Prediction: Guinea-Bissau vs Nigeria

🔮 Guinea-Bissau 1 – 2 Nigeria

The Super Eagles have enough individual quality to win even without their talismanic striker, but the combination of home advantage, equatorial heat and a tight schedule should keep Guinea-Bissau in the contest until the final whistle. Likely scorers: Lookman, Ilenikhena (Nigeria), Balde (Guinea-Bissau).