Nigeria’s Super Eagles will hope to end their 10-game winless run when they face Ecuador in a friendly game at the 25,000-capacity Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey in the early hours of Friday.
The match which kicks off at 1:30 am on Friday is the first meeting between the West African giants and the South Americans.
Since their last 1-0 win over Egypt in Asaba in March 2019, the three-time African champions have failed to record a victory in 10 consecutive friendly outings, losing five and picking up five draws in three years.
The Super Eagles started their tour of the United States on a losing note as they fell to a 2-1 to Mexico at the AT&T stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Sunday.
After falling behind to Santiago Gimenez’s first-half opener, Feyenoord forward Cyriel Dessers restored parity nine minutes into the second period before Watford defender William Troost-Ekong scored an own goal to hand El Tri a slender victory.
Prior to their defeat in Texas, the Eagles watched as their qualification for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar went up in smoke when they were beaten on the away-goal rule by archrivals Ghana back in March.
Nigeria have now failed to win any of their last four games across all competitions, picking up two draws and losing two since January’s 2-0 victory over Guinea-Bissau in Group D of the Africa Cup of Nations.
Meanwhile, their opponents, La Tri also head into the game on a run of five consecutive games without a win.
Both sides will look to put an end to their unwanted record when they clash in what promises to be an interesting friendly.
According to the Nigeria Football Federation media team, a total of 20 players are now available to Jose Peseiro ahead of the game.
Midfielder Innocent Bonke is unlikely to play any part in Thursday’s session, but home-based professional Chiamaka Madu, who saw action in the second period against Mexico’s El Tri, could be given another playing time.