AFCONQ 2023: Leone Stars release 25-man squad for Super Eagles, Guinea Bissau clash

Ahead of most prestigious African football tournament of 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Nigeria and Guinea-Bissau, the Sierra Leone Football Association Wednesday released a 25-man squad to execute both games, BSNSports.com.ng reports.

The Super Eagles will entertain Leone Stars on June 9 at Moshood Abiola Stadium, Abuja, been the first game of the qualifying series.

The list was announced in a statement released by the association on their verified Twitter handle.

Head coach, John Keister, included Stephen Caulker, a former England international and former Liverpool defender, as part of the 25-man squad for the qualifiers hurdle.

Caulker, the captain, has been touted a major doubt for the encounter, having missed a series of matches for his Turkish club, Gaziantep, following a bruise he suffered in training April 21, with no initial date set for his return.

Caulker was instrumental to the Leone Stars’ impressive performance at the 2021 AFCON in Cameroon, where they played a goalless draw against then champions Algeria in their opening game, before another 2-2 stalemate against Ivory Coast. They lost 1-0 to Equatorial Guinea in their final group game, and the West Africans are now hoping to return to the competition for a second consecutive time.

Nigeria last faced Sierra Leone at the last AFCON qualifiers in 2020 and played out a disappointing 4-4 draw at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City before a goalless stalemate in Freetown.

FULL LIST:

• 2019 AFCON
• 2024 Olympic
• World Cup