Enyimba, Rivers hope to eliminate North African opponents

Enyimba and Rivers United will be hoping to eliminate their North African opponents from the CAF Confederation Cup, becoming the first Nigerian teams to do so since the 2018/19 season.

Nigerian teams have struggled to beat their North African counterparts in the CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup, with Enugu Rangers the most recent team to knock one out of the CAF inter-club competitions.

In the preliminary phase of the 2018/19 season, the Flying Antelopes defeated Algerian side USM Bel Abbès 2-0 on aggregate to advance to the first round, before defeating Lesotho’s Bantu 4-2 on aggregate to reach the group phase.

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Enyimba and Rivers United are paired with North African sides Al Ittihad and Al Masry in the 2021/22 playoff round.

Rivers United are the most recent team to be defeated by a North African team, having lost 2-1 on aggregate to Sudan’s Al Hilal in the CAF Champions League group stage qualifiers last week, while Enyimba’s last defeat in the competition came in the 2017/18 season, when they were defeated 3-1 on aggregate by Tunisia’s Raja Casablanca in the semi-final.
In the 2017/18 season, four Nigerian teams advanced to the group stage playoffs round, with only Enyimba advancing.

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Akwa United were defeated by Al Hilal on the away goal rule, while Plateau United were defeated 5-2 by USM Alger. MFM FC was defeated by Djoliba of Senegal.