Niger and Togo lock horns at the Stade El Bachir in Mohammedia, Morocco on Friday for an international friendly in the 2024 FIFA Series. It's a new initiative by the governing body wherein teams from all six confederations will participate in a friendly game.
In what's their second official match of the calendar year, Niger are looking to recover from their earlier defeat and register their first win of 2024. The Menas were beaten 1-0 by Senegal in a friendly game back in January, courtesy of a 99th-minute strike from Formose Mendy.
It continued their poor run, as the west African nation had also failed to qualify for the 2023 African Cup of Nations following a disastrous qualifying campaign.
Head coach Badou Zaki has called up 26 players for this month's double-header against Togo and Burkina Faso, including experienced midfielder Youssouf Oumarou, who has 56 caps to his name.
Togo too were absent from the recent AFCON championship in Ivory Coast after finishing in third place in Group B of Afcon qualifying. They finished with just two wins from six games.
Togo has had slightly better luck in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifications where they have secured a draw in the two matches played so far. The Sparrowhawks held Sudan to a 1-1 draw in their first match before a goalless stalemate with Senegal on matchday two.
Niger vs Togo Head-To-Head and Key Numbers
- Niger and Togo have clashed 14 times in history, and the spoils are equally shared right now with five wins for each
- Niger and Togo last met in September 2022 when the former beat the Sparrowhawks 3-1 in an AFCON qualifier
- Having failed to score in their last game, Niger could see consecutive goalless outings for the second time in less than a year
- Niger and Togo both lost their first match of 2024: while the Menas were beaten 1-0 by Senegal, Togo's B-team lost to Algeria 3-0
- Niger are ranked 128th in the world; Togo are 12 places above them
Niger vs Togo Prediction
Togo are the better ranked side here but have been lacking quality lately. Niger remain a decent attacking unit, capable of causing them all kinds of trouble. We're backing the Menas to prevail here, albeit narrowly.
Prediction: Niger 2-1 Togo
Niger vs Togo Betting Tips
Tip 1 - Result: Niger
Tip 2 - Goals over/under 2.5: Over 2.5
Tip 3 - Both teams to score: Yes