● If Bafana Bafana do not make it to the World Cup finals in Russia next year the Premier Soccer League will still be hoping for some representation and‚ barring injury‚ are guaranteed to have at least one player who plays in South Africa at the finals.
In Group B of the African qualifiers‚ only Nigeria and Zambia are left in the race for top spot in the group and the one qualifying berth for the tournament next June.
Home victory for Nigeria in Uyo on Saturday (kick off 6pm) will ensure that the Super Eagles become the first African side to advance to the finals.
Chippa United goalkeeper Daniel Akpeyi is likely to return to the starting line-up after injury kept him out of the last two qualifiers against Cameroon.
Nigeria’s first-choice goalkeeper Carl Ikeme is currently battling cancer and, with Akpeyi absent for the last game‚ the No 1 jersey fell to Ikechukwu Ezenwa‚ one of the few home-based players to have featured in the Nigerian side in recent years. Akpeyi moved to Chippa after the CHAN-2014 tournament in South Africa and has been among the best PSL goalkeepers since.
Should Zambia win on Saturday they will cause yet another upset and put themselves in line for a first-ever World Cup.
Their squad is captained by Kennedy Mweene of Mamelodi Sundowns and has new Orlando Pirates signing Justin Shonga and Rodrick Kabwe of Ajax Cape Town among its newer members.
Brian Mwila of Platinum Stars would have also been included had he not been injured. That keeps him sidelined this week.
At the 2014 World Cup in Brazil‚ there were two PSL-based players in Ghana’s 23man squad — goalkeeper Fatau Dauda‚ who was on Pirates’ books at the time‚ and Rashid Sumaila‚ then at Sundowns but now playing in Kuwait.
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