“The challenge is not only in facing Nigeria, which has world-class attacking names, such as Victor Boniface and Ademola Lookman, but also in facing influential absences among the ranks of the Libyan national team, which may hinder the team’s chances of achieving a positive result in this fateful confrontation,” Libyan outlet Libya Akhbar reported on Sunday.
Speaking in a press conference and cited by Libya News 24, Al-Hadhiri also rued the absence of some key players in their first training sessions in Tripoli, pointing out that the team suffers from a significant lack of physical preparation for the Nigerian trip.
He said, “We have not yet reached the required readiness to face a strong opponent the size of Nigeria. The team suffers from the absence of a number of players in the first training sessions, which led to difficulty in imposing a comprehensive tactical vision for the match. This lack of preparation represents an additional obstacle for the team that needs to exert double efforts to achieve a positive result away from home and return with at least a draw point to renew the hopes of qualification.”
Some of the injured Mediterranean Knights include Ahli Tripoli club defender Ahmed Al-Tarbi, Al-Nasr club’s Mohammed Al-Tabbal, and Ali Youssef, who plies his trade with African Club of Tunisia.
Aside from the injured trio, the team will also be without three players of Al-Ahly Tripoli, who refused to return to represent the national team. They are Hamdou El-Houni, Sand Al-Warfali, and Mohamed Al-Munir, which increases the pressure on the coach, who is trying to manage the crisis of the boycotting players amid widespread public criticism.
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