Ecuador and Nigeria square off in an international friendly game at the Red Bull Arena in New Jersey on Friday.
The match is the first in a series of three friendly games that Ecuador will take part in throughout the United States. They face Mexico on Sunday and will then take on Cape Verde a week later.
Nigeria will conclude their warm-up for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers in this match, after suffering a 2-1 loss against Mexico on Sunday. They will travel back to Nigeria after the game and will continue their preparations for the campaign opener against Sierra Leone next Thursday.
Ecuador vs Nigeria Head-to-Head
This will be the first meeting between the two sides across all competitions.
Ecuador form guide (all competitions): D-L-D-D-W
Nigeria form guide (all competitions): L-D-D-L-W
Ecuador vs Nigeria Team News
Ecuador
La Tri head coach Gustavo Alfaro has called upon 25 players for the three friendly games scheduled for this month. Despite the game's little competitive significance, some of the very big names have been included in the squad.
These matches might help Alfaro determine what his ideal starting XI should look like ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. We expect him to experiment with the formations and lineups in the three games.
There are no reported injuries for South Americans ahead of the match.
Injury: None
Doubtful: None
Suspension: None
Nigeria
The Super Eagles had listed 30 players for the friendly games, but as of Sunday, only 20 players reported to the training camp. Emmanuel Dennis was the latest addition to the squad as he was able to join his teammates on Tuesday.
Olaoluwa Aina and Innocent Bonke are nursing injuries and might not recover in time for this match.
Injured: Olaoluwa Aina, Oghenekaro Etebo, Wilfred Ndidi, Innocent Bonke
Doubtful: Ahmed Musa
Suspended: None
Ecuador vs Nigeria Predicted XIs
Ecuador (4-4-2): Alexander Dominguez (GK); Robert Arboleda, Félix Torres, Piero Hincapie, Pervis Estupiñán; Alexander Alvarado, Alan Franco, Gonzalo Plata, Dixon Arroyo; Enner Valencia, Leonardo Campana
Nigeria (4-2-3-1): Francis Uzoho (GK); Semi Ajayi, William Troost-Ekong, Chidozie Awaziem, Bello Babatunde Martins; Joe Aribo, Calvin Bassey; Chiamaka Madu, Alex Iwobi, Cyriel Dessers; Terem Moffi
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Ecuador vs Nigeria Prediction
Ecuador have a strong squad at the moment and have just two losses in their last nine games, with three of their last four games ending in draws. Nigeria are missing some of their key players in the game and we expect them to suffer yet another defeat.
Prediction: Ecuador 2-1 Nigeria