Guinea-Bissau coach plays down pitch worries before Eagles match

Guinea-Bissau coach Emiliano Té has downplayed worries about the pitch at the 24 de Setembro Stadium ahead of his team’s 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match against Nigeria on Tuesday, according to PUNCH Sports Extra.

The two teams will meet in their second Group L match at the 20,000-seat stadium. Both sides want to keep their winning starts in the qualifiers.

Guinea-Bissau kicked off their campaign with a strong 2-0 away win over Tanzania. Nigeria also won their opening match 2-1 against Madagascar in Uyo.

The pitch condition is a concern because Guinea-Bissau is in the middle of its rainy season. Continuous rain can make the playing surface soaked and uneven. This affects how the ball moves and can damage the grass quickly with constant play.

The Super Eagles are aware of the tough playing conditions, but coach Eric Chelle decided not to focus on the pitch ahead of the match.

“I don’t want to say whether the pitch is good or the pitch is bad. We just need to stay focused on our game. We have to manage and we will see how it is during the training session too before the game,” Chelle said.

Té, who took over from Luis Boa Morte in 2025 after the former Portugal striker was fired following eight straight losses, admitted that the pitch is not in great shape but said the conditions are out of the hosts’ hands.

“We are playing in Africa and we know that our pitch is not one of the best, but it is what it is. It is what we have and we cannot do anything about it,” he said in a pre-match interview.

“We also don’t like to play on it the way it is now, but we can’t control that because it is raining and they try their best to make it good,” Té said.

Tuesday’s match will be the fifth time these two countries have faced each other. Nigeria has the upper hand after winning their last two meetings.

Guinea-Bissau, however, famously shocked the Super Eagles with a 1-0 win in Abuja during the first leg of the 2023 AFCON qualifiers. Mama Baldé scored the only goal of that game.

Nigeria responded in the return match in Bissau, where Moses Simon scored from a penalty in the 30th minute to secure a 1-0 win.