Now that the Eagles’ AFCON qualifiers are over

ON Tuesday, Nigeria’s senior national football team, the Super Eagles, ended their qualification campaign for the 2022 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) with an emphatic victory over the Likuena (Crocodiles) of Lesotho. In the match played at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos, the first time the national team had played in Lagos in over a decade, the Eagles gave Nigerians massive cause for cheer. A first-half beauty from Victor Osimhen, Nigeria’s top scorer in the current campaign, and second-half goals from Oghenekaro Etebo and new revelation, Paul Onuachu, placed the three-time African champions at the summit of their Group L campaign with an unbeaten record of six games. The Eagles picked 14 points from six games.

The 33rd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial international men’s football championship of Africa organised by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), was originally scheduled to be played between June and July 2021, but CAF announced on January 15, 2020 that due to unfavourable climatic conditions during this period, the tournament would take place between January 9 and February 6, 2021. On June 30, 2020, CAF again moved the tournament  to January 2022 following the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

To be sure, as three-time champions, the Super Eagles are bound to be tagged as one of the favourites in Cameroon 2022. They will however be well advised to keep the lessons of the qualification campaign in mind as they prepare for the continental showpiece. During a qualifier played at the Sam Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin City, on Friday, November 13, 2020, Gernot Rohr’s men scandalously squandered a four-goal lead  against the Lone Stars of Sierra Leone, denting Nigeria’s soccer image. And neither did they quite succeed in redeeming the country’s image during the reverse fixture played at the Siaka Stevens Stadium, Freetown, on November 17, 2020, where they were held to a barren draw. Ahead of the  Sierra Leone game, coach Gernot Rohr had in fact promised Nigerians the six points at stake. However, the Eagles picked up only two points from the games. The Eagles would therefore do well to avoid complacency of any sort, going forward.  Happily, they have since returned to winning ways, ending the eight-year unbeaten home record of the Squirrels of Benin with a goal by Paul Onuachu before humbling the Likuena of Lesotho.

To say the least, the hurdles of the forthcoming AFCON promise to be daunting. The tournament is now being organised with a 24-team format, and there is no team that the Eagles can, or should, look down on. The 2022 AFCON qualifiers, as of March 30, had witnessed 334 goals in 150 matches, an average of 2.23 goals per match. This is instructive. Every team that plays in the forthcoming tournament therefore deserves respect by the mere fact of its qualification and the Eagles, who won bronze at the last edition of the tournament in Egypt, should fix their gaze firmly on the AFCON trophy and not their past glories. The coaching crew and the team should approach the tournament with the right mindset, and with the right mentality. One of the major reasons the Stephen Keshi-led coaching crew captured the 2013 AFCON gold in South Africa was that it was willing to give home-based players the opportunity to showcase their talent. Nigerians can never forget the heroics of the then Warri Wolves midfielder, Sunday Mba, at that tournament. Rohr and his men should embrace Keshi’s vision. In this regard, it is cheering that players like Enyimba FC’s Anayo Iwuala are being given an opportunity to earn a place in the team.

Besides, there can be no doubt that quality friendlies are a necessity, together with camp discipline and focus. On its part, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) would need to shelve its accustomed failure to release funds. There must be no rows over wages and bonuses. We congratulate the Super Eagles on their AFCON qualification and wish them maximal success in Cameroon.

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