Niger out to prove point

AFTER looking completely lost in its maiden Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) appearance, Niger is out to prove that it has a much better team than what it showed during the 2-0 loss to co-hosts Gabon.The Mena qualified ahead of the likes of Egypt and South Africa, leading many to expect much more of them despite their lack of tournament experienceCoach Harouna Doula Gabde will have to deal with the loss of Tidjani Amadou Moutari, whose substitute appearance against the Panthers lasted only six minutes before he was stretchered off with a broken leg.While Moutari has already left Gabon to undergo an operation in France, another player in the squad, midfielder Moussa Maazou, is suffering from an ankle sprain but will probably pass fit in time for the game.Unlike their opponents, the Carthage Eagles are coming into this encounter in high spirits after obtaining a valuable opening win against north African rivals Morocco. The Tunisians rode their luck at times but their counter-attacking strategy paid dividends.Against Niger, they will have to employ a more expansive attacking approach as they will be the technically superior side and will much prefer to have their final Group C match against the co-hosts be a formality rather than a must win game.Though many expected that Sami Trabelsi would switch out his right and left-backs, Ammar Jemal and Bilel Ifa, for the more attacking options of Khalil Chammam and Anis Boussaidi, the latest from Libreville is that the coach looks more likely to stick with the same back four he used against Morocco, while giving them a bit more license to roam forward.
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