BEVERLY HILLS, March 26, (THEWILL) – Ahead of the penultimate Group L fixture for the TOTAL African Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers between the Super Eagles of Nigeria and the Squirrels of the Republic of Benin, the Football Association of the hosts, the Fédération Béninoise de Football and their coach, Michel Dussuyer, have received some discomforting update.
It was confirmed on Friday that one of the 24 players of the Béninoise squad invited for the fixture has tested positive for coronavirus. Upon getting the news, the French tactician called up Jean Ogouchi, who stars as a centre back for Dragons FC de l’Ouémé sto, of the Benin Premier League and based in Porto-Novo, to take the player’s place.
The identity of the infected player was kept secret when Dussuyer confirmed the news at the end of the hosts’ training session at the Charles de Gaulle stadium in Porto-Novo.
However, he provided a fitness update on his squad: “My group is feeling good. We always remain vigilant with the COVID because we had a case in the workforce that was put in isolation right away.
“Otherwise the rest of the troop is fine. We did the tests this morning and we are awaiting the results this evening. The atmosphere is good, the work is good.”
Upon entry in Porto-Novo on Friday, the entire squad and officials of the Nigerian delegation had their mandatory COVID-19 tests done and fortunately, there is as yet no report of any positive case in the results.
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Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
