9th September, 2014
The Super Eagles got their Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title defence off to a shaky start with a scandalous 2-3 home defeat to the Republic of Congo at the UJ Esuene Stadium, Calabar, Cross River State, on Saturday. It was the first match of the qualifying series and the loss puts the Eagles in a precarious position in Group A of the qualifiers.
The Eagles, coached by Stephen Keshi, who are the defending champions, capitulated to a competitive home loss, the first of such in 33 years, since bungling a 1982 FIFA World Cup qualifier 0-2 to Algeria’s Fennecs at the National Stadium, Lagos.
The Nigerian team coming from a round of 16 outing at the Brazil 2014 FIFA World Cup in June were totally outplayed by Congo’s Red Devils who were business-like, undeterred by a partisan crowd in Calabar and unfazed by their more illustrious opponents.
Two tickets are available in Group A, which also comprises South Africa and Sudan. After the first group matches at the weekend, South Africa’s Bafana Bafana top the group with 3 points. The South Africans were outstanding in their 3-0 victory over Sudan, while Congo’s Red Devils are second with 3 points. Nigeria’s Eagles are third with no points and Sudan are at the bottom of the table.
The performance of the Eagles in the match against a youthful Congo team, who were mainly home-based players, has narrowed the chances of the Nigerian side picking one of the tickets for the AFCON 2015 in Morocco.
Boastful coach of Congo, Frenchman Claude Le Roy, after seeing the lacklustre display of his opponents, said that the Red Devils would pick the AFCON ticket before the Eagles, while Coach Keshi and his employers, Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, want Nigerians not to lose hope as the team will bounce back in their match against the Bafana Bafana of South Africa on Wednesday in Cape Town.
We, however, believe that if these Eagles will be in Morocco to defend the AFCON won in South Africa in 2013, they have to throw everything into the game against South Africa on Wednesday.
The crisis-ridden NFF, must as a matter of urgency, put its house in order and get the administration of the game in Nigeria on the right pedestal. The issue of a new contract for Keshi should be sorted out as soon as possible. Keshi himself has a lot of work to do especially in ensuring that the best Nigerian players are deployed for the remaining matches of the qualifying series.
There is no doubt that Nigeria has abundant good players. So it is inexcusable for the coach not to invite them for crucial matches. Most of such players are in their top forms and scoring goals for their clubs abroad.
A crucial opening match of the qualifiers like the one against Congo in Calabar last weekend deserved adequate preparation but that was not the case. The expectations of soccer-loving Nigerians and followers of African football around the world in the match in Calabar was to see the African champions making a bold statement against Congo but the Eagles fell flat when it mattered most.
This is a wake-up call for the Eagles to be fully prepared for the challenges ahead in the qualifying series because it will be a disaster if the Nigerian team are not in Morocco to defend the AFCON title next year.