Gabon national team head coach Thierry Mouyouma has revealed plans for a tactical shakeup ahead of his side’s crucial World Cup play-offs semi-final clash with the Super Eagles of Nigeria, Footynaija.com reports.
The Panthers of Gabon are gearing up for a stern test against Nigeria, an opponent that has made life difficult for them in the past. Both nations have met on nine different occasions in the past with Gabon managing to taste victory in just one of those meetings.
However, ahead of the upcoming clash in Rabat, the capital city of Morocco, Mouyouma’s men will take confidence from their almost impeccable form during the qualifying campaign where they amassed 25 points compared to Nigeria’s tally of 17.
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Speaking about the upcoming clash in a recent interview, Mouyouma embodied this confidence when outlining his plans to outplay the Super Eagles and guide Gabon beyond the play-offs semi-final.
“We will have to change things against Nigeria, especially on a tactical and even technical level,” he told the Gabonese Press Agency as revealed by Complete Sport.
“It is important that we control the emotion of our opponent. We must make them run after the ball and play behind their lines.”
Mouyouma is looking to shepherd Gabon towards a first ever qualification for the FIFA World Cup, and after narrowly missing out on automatic qualification, the Panthers will fancy their chances of making it through this play-offs phase.
Gabon and Nigeria will face off on Thursday, November 13 at the Prince Heritier Moulay El Hassan Sports Complex in Rabat and it promises to be an intriguing contest. Kick-off is slated for 5:00 PM local time.
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