Unimpressed with the performance of Nigeria’s Super Eagles so far in the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon), President Bola Tinubu has upbraided the players but urged them to brace up as they face arch-rival Cameroon on Saturday.
The Super Eagles will play the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon in the last 16 of the tournament at the Felix Houphouet -Boigny Stadium in Abidjan. In a similar encounter in the previous tournament, Nigeria defeated Cameroon 2-1.
Afraid such a gain may slip the team, President Tinubu who has zoomed off to France on a private visit, delivered a message through sports minister John Enoh to the team.
“I had a meeting with the President. I went to the villa for something else and the President cornered me and said we (Eagles) managed to qualify and I said that’s how we are going to keep going until we win the tournament,’’ the minister told the players through a zoom meeting on Thursday.
“He said that I should tell the players that he wasn’t too impressed with the last match but he knows that now that they are off the group stages, they are going to impress him more.
“That’s what the President told me and it means that the President is actually watching your matches. Would you believe this? And the President is urging you and also showing an understanding of the game because he knows that there is a lot of caution at the group stage and from the round of 16, you are going to be more impressive.”
Some football enthusiasts believe the President was right in his assessment and fear that Eagles could be defeated by a more enterprising Indomitable Lions of Cameroon on Saturday.
Adedeji Adesoji, an engineer and football fan, said that team bonding and style of play was not at par with other teams. “We don’t have a tactical coach who can make flexible changes especially in the attack line.”
“The Guinea Bissau that we played last Monday were tactically better. We need to do better when we play experienced opposition like Cameroon.
“Although Nigeria defeated Cameroon in the last Afcon outing to move up, they are a very good team. They have over the years, given Super Eagles tough challenges, we barely beat them.
“However they just have to change their style of ball play if they are going to get anything against a very serious Cameroon side."
Kingsley Uzor, a tailor, believes that a team like Cameroon is better and have the Afcon experience and boast of players that can compete at high tempo.
“They (Cameroon) can rise to the occasion when the challenge is provided for them. I just pray we don’t regret all these chances we are missing in our matches.’’
African football has really grown and this year’s edition had been competitive, he observed.
Sounding patriotic, he believes that Nigeria is still a favourite to win the Afcon regardless of the travails they have faced.
Femi Orebote, a Computer Operator, believes that Nigeria’s attack is very poor and the midfielders have not been able to link up well with the attack.
“Victor Osimhen has been good but in this instance not the player that we know so well playing in Napoli of Italy. He has not been able to gel properly with the midfielders.
“The only good thing I know we have been able to achieve properly is at the defence, because after three games, allowing only one goal is a testament of our strength at the back,” Orebote said.
The frailties of Eagles in Afcon notwithstanding, the boys have been separated from the men as 16 teams have advanced to the knockout stage out of the 24 teams that started the race.
Nigeria, a three-time winner, still has a chance if the team remains resolute and with minor changes.
The Eagles should show more commitment and determination in order to overcome the Cameroonians, Haruna Idachaba, a fan of the Eagles, said and urged the players to play as a team in order to overcome their opponent.
He said that the players who ply their trade with different clubs must understand each other to make a good team.
“The foreign-based players need to have played together for some time and blend before going for competition of this magnitude,” he said.
He urged the technical crew to go back to the drawing board having made it to the knock-out stage, to strategise and beat Cameroon.
Philip Ekeoba, a fan, said he is always scared when the Super Eagles are meeting a stronger opponent in any tournament in the knockout stage.
“I hope the coach will do the needful and make the necessary corrections before the match. The technical crew and the players need to sit up,“ he said.
Smah George, the Secretary of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (Swan), Nasarawa State chapter, pointed out that the Eagles' midfield must put in extra effort by creating more chances for the strikers to score goals.
“What’s the reason of having these high profile strikers in the team, yet we are goal shy? It means it’s either the midfield is not working or the strikers are goal shy themselves.
“But with the pedigree of someone like Osimhen, if you create adequate goal-scoring chances, he is definitely going to score. So, for me, the midfield should be creative.
