Fifteen nations have secured their spots for next year's AFCON, while nine spots remain unclaimed, and they will be determined this September. With the top two countries from each group qualifying for the tournament, Nigeria - currently on top of Group A with 12 points - are safely through, alongside Guinea Bissau whom are second with 10 points. Unfortunately, Sierra Leone and São Tomé & Príncipe, who are in the third and fourth positions with 5 and 1 point respectively, have been eliminated. This makes the upcoming match between Nigeria and the latter a dead rubber game. Nevertheless, there are still exciting aspects to anticipate when these two teams face each other on Sunday. BetKing is committed to offering our online sports betting community the best odds to ensure a valuable betting experience. **The Lead Up** After securing their AFCON qualification with a dramatic late victory over Sierra Leone (3-2) back in June, many expected a smooth journey leading up to the last game. However, in typical Nigerian fashion, it has been anything but smooth. The Super Eagles' head coach, José Peseiro, who was reportedly earning a monthly salary of £70,000, became a contentious figure within the Nigerian hierarchy due to his substantial wages, leading to efforts to remove him from the position. In the early part of last week, there were widespread reports that Augustine Eguavoen, a former Super Eagles player who had previously served as the national team's interim coach on three occasions, including during the 2006 AFCON when he guided the team to a third-place finish, was once again being considered for the role. On an interim basis, of course. However, things took an unexpected turn later in the week when the NFF (Nigerian Football Federation) issued José Peseiro a 3-day ultimatum. He had to either agree to a significant reduction in his salary to continue in the job or step down. Ultimately, the Portuguese manager chose to accept the pay cut and will now continue as the head coach of the Super Eagles for the foreseeable future. **Head-to-Head** These two nations have crossed paths just once before, during the first leg of the qualifiers in June of last year. It was a historic day for the Super Eagles, as they grabbed their biggest ever win in senior international men's football. The astonishing scoreline was 10-0, and what made it even more remarkable was that José Peseiro’s led side achieved this dominant win while playing away from home. São Tomé & Príncipe found themselves overwhelmed by Nigeria's offensive prowess, with Victor Osimhen netting four goals and his strike partner, Terem Moffi, adding a brace to the tally. On that memorable day, wingers Amemola Lookman and Moses Simon also contributed with one goal apiece, while substitute Emmanuel Dennis sealed the double-digit scoreline with a penalty in the 92nd minute. While expecting an exact repeat of that scoreline might be a bit ambitious, the Super Eagles are anticipated to secure a comfortable victory. Our bet predictions lean towards there being Over 3.5 Goals in the match, and we also anticipate Victor Osimhen to be an anytime scorer during the game, and at BetKing, we have the high odds for these that are unmatched by other online betting sites. **AFCON Qualifying Form** **Nigeria:** W-W-L-W-W **São Tomé & Príncipe:** L-L-D-L-L Thanks to Nigeria’s historic win over São Tomé and Príncipe, they lead all African countries in goals scored in the qualifiers (16), while only conceding 4. Victor Osimhen leads the AFCON qualifiers scoring chart with 7 goals scored and the Napoli striker will be itching to get on the socresheet once again. The visitors, unsurprisingly, have conceded the most goals (20), while scoring just 3. The Super Eagles dropped points just once, in a 1-0 home loss to Guniea-Bissau back in March. In contrast, São Tomé and Príncipe have faced a more challenging journey, losing all but one of their games, with their only point coming from a 2-2 draw away at Sierra Leone, also in March. **What To Expect** Despite Nigeria's relatively smooth qualification for AFCON, concerns have arisen regarding their performance against stronger and more formidable opponents. In such matches, the team has appeared lackluster and has struggled to put up a significant fight, often falling short of expectations. Last year, they lost three friendlies in a row to Algeria, Costa Rica, and Portugal by an aggregate scoreline of 8-1. Just before the AFCON qualifiers commenced, Nigeria had a less-than-ideal record, having lost three out of their five international matches, with the remaining two ending in draws against Ghana. These draws proved costly, as Ghana secured World Cup qualification at Nigeria's expense. Indeed, these concerns underscore the importance of Nigeria addressing and resolving their issues when facing stronger opponents to enhance their competitiveness on the international stage. With the upcoming match being a dead rubber game, it presents an opportunity to experiment and explore new strategies. Two notable players, Gift Orban and Victor Boniface, have been called up to the national team, and it will be intriguing to observe how José Peseiro utilizes them, considering that they play in the same position as Victor Osimhen. Victor Boniface, in particular, has been in exceptional form for Bayer Leverkusen since his move to Germany, with an impressive record of 5 goals and 2 assists in just 4 games. On the other hand, Gift Orban is a more versatile forward who showcased his scoring prowess with 20 goals in 22 games for Gent after his January transfer. This season, he has continued to shine with 6 goals in 9 games. While it does present a selection challenge for José Peseiro, it's the kind of challenge any manager would welcome—a wealth of talented options to choose from. This gives Nigeria an opportunity to explore new tactics and potentially strengthen their attacking options, which could prove valuable in future encounters against tougher opponents. **Betting Tips:**
[Register on BetKing](https://m.betking.com/account/registration) and start getting value for your money by betting on football matches today.