Nigeria may lose qualification ticket if....

Posted : 18 June 2023

Nigeria is one of the big guns of football in Africa, especially in the real golden age of the Green Eagles that metamorphosed to the Super Eagles.

To underscore the relevance of the Super Eagles in the African highest football competition, the African Cup of Nations (AFCON), Nigeria has been able to qualify for the six of the last eight of the showpiece and only missing out on two occasions in 2006 and recently, 2022 edition.

When it comes to AFCON, Nigeria has a pleasant history, having won the gong thrice in 1980, 1994 and 2013.

Nigeria also came runners up at four different times, 1984, 1988, 1990 and 2000 and won bronze medals eight times in 1976, 1978, 1992, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2010, and 2019.

Without mincing words, the Super Eagles of Nigeria is one of the most-decorated team in Africa, no wonder, many Nigerians feels AFCON appearance is a birthright.

When the FIFA President, Giani Infantino visited Nigeria, he made a vivid remark about football in Nigeria when he decribed it as a "Religion" and truly, some Nigerians worship football.

Most times, the success of the football administrations is being measured by the performance of the Super Eagles in the continental campaigns.

So, come Sunday, the Super Eagles will hope to fly again having a 2023 AFCON qualifiers date against Sierra Leone; a match to be played at Kanyon Doe Sports Complex in Monrovia, Liberia, because there are no CAF-approved stadiums in Sierra Leone.

The match on Sunday is such a crucial one that both sides will need to spill blood to win, owing to the closeness of points between the top three teams with the Super Eagles on nine points, while the Leone Stars have six points.

To underscore how crucial this match is, the Super Eagles must have at the back of their minds that Guinea Bissau had on Wednesday temporary claimed the leadership of the Group A standings of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers ahead of them, after a slim 1-0 win over Sao Tome and Principe.

The country is however, on the verge of sealing a place at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) with the win, which means Nigeria must beat Sierra Leone on Sunday.

The Djurtus (Wild Dogs) of Guinea Bissau now have 10 points above the Super Eagles of Nigeria with nine points to the second position with a game in hand.

As much as Nigeria also needs a win in the next match, the Leone Stars also need a win to boost thier chances of qualification and keep faith till the last match of the Group A fixtures, which can only momentarily brighten their hopes of securing successive AFCON appearances for the first time since 1996.

However, a win for the Super Eagles will serve as a guarantee for a place in the continental showpiece, which means that Nigeria will be having unassailable 12 points.

A loss for Sierra Leone means that they will remain in six points, while the Djurtus of Guinea Bissau will remain on 10 points.

Nigeria will be facing the whipping boys, Sao Tome and Principe, a team that had recorded their heaviest away win (10-0).

The home match against Sao Tome and Principe will be dead rubber fixtures as the Eagles will only have to play for pride.

The Jose Peseiro’s Eagles had defeated the Keister-tutored Leone Stars 2-1 in the first Group A fixtures, a game which Nigeria ran away with goals from Alex Iwobi and Victor Osimhen to cancel out Jonathan Morsay’s early strike.

But unrelenting Sierra Leone, on the Match Day 2 of the 2023 AFCON qualifiers, forced the 10-man Djurtus of Guinea Bissau to a 2-2 draw at home.

The Leone Stars then at the Match Day 3 of the AFCON Qualifiers came from behind twice to force a 2-2 draw with Sao Tome and Principe, and thereafter, edged out Adriano Eusebio’s men 2-0 in the second of their double-header at the Adrar Stadium.

The Super Eagles have not been convincing in the last series of matches after a run of four defeats on the bounce, losing to Algeria, Costa Rica and Portugal in three successive friendly matches, before falling to a disappointing 1-0 loss to Guinea-Bissau in their return to the AFCON qualifiers on March 24.

The Super Eagles were able to redeem themselves and bounce back to winning ways when they picked up a 1-0 victory over Guinea-Bissau in the second of their group double-header three days later, courtesy of a first-half penalty from Moses Simon.

Just last week, the Coach of Sierra Leone invited a 25-man squad for the must-win-match against Nigeria.

Notable among the invitees were the likes of Anderlecht striker Mustapha Bundu and former Tottenham Hotspur man, Steven Caulker, headlining the team.

For the Team Sierra Leone, Keister called up 15 home-based players to the squad, including the likes of Joseph Cleveland, Saidu Bah Kamara and goalkeeper Mohammed Kamara, who has 18 senior caps to his name.

The Nigerian team, on the other hand, needs to look on the positive as Sierra Leone is not a match for them.

Nigeria currently boast of the right players who will win the match convincingly.

The likes of the Premier League's attacking trio of Alex Iwobi, Ademola Lookman and Kelechi Iheanacho, while the attack will be on the shoulder of the Star Boy and Napoli FC highest goal scorer, Victor Osimhen who the fans will be expecting to turn his club form to national duty.

Osimhen, who at 24 years is already eyeing the Nigeria's all-time leading goal poacher with 15 international goals, will need to up his ante and add to his goals.

For the first time in recent times, Eagles Coach, Jose Peseiro mustered the courage to invite Bendel Insurance's defensive rock, Divine Nwachukwu as one of four home-based players included in the Super Eagles squad, which is highly commendable.

The Super Eagles have a better head to head against the Leone’s Stars in which both teams have faced each other 17 times, Nigeria won 10 games, lost two and drew five.

So Nigeria has a bragging right, save any floppy match, come Sunday.

Given the gulf in quality and experience in the Super Eagles, we are backing Nigeria to come out on top this weekend.

Nigeria may lose qualification ticket if....

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