AFCON Qualifiers Expose Super Eagles’ Inadequacies

BY JUDE OBAFEMI

On Matchday four of the TotalEnergies 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying series, Senegal, South Africa and Burkina Faso all qualified for the tournament. Senegal beat Mozambique 1-0, South Africa defeated Liberia 2-1 and Burkina Faso drew 1-1 with Togo. Nigeria's Super Eagles were the bookies' favourite to be in this number of countries punching their tickets for the continental competition. This was expected because of the quality that Nigeria boasts, the antecedents of the Super Eagles and the circumstances surrounding the timing of the qualifiers with Nigerian strikers on top of their game.

The Super Eagles beat Sierra Leone 2-1 at home and pummelled Sao Tome and Principe 10-nil away in the first two legs of the series. Facing Guinea Bissau on matchday three, the expectation was that Nigeria, which is ranked 83 places above their West African opponents in the current FIFA ranking, were going to cruise to a qualification place over the two legs in the March international break. The reality turned out quite differently as Nigeria disappointingly slumped to a 1-0 upset at home. It was a disgraceful performance in an equally embarrassing Abuja stadium that had seen better days and was more untended than lush and green as could have been expected of a national stadium. The Nigeria Football Federation had to apologise to football fans and promised that everything will be done to rectify the loss when the teams clashed again three days later in Guinea Bissau.

THEWILL SportsLive analysis of the return fixture showed that Guinea-Bissau, whose appreciation of the quality against them was down-to-earth, employed an ultradefensive strategy throughout the game. It was a technical decision which worked for them in the first half. The hosts sat back and soaked up all the pressure from the Super Eagles and limited the opportunities for Nigeria's attacking players to take advantage of the gap in individual quality between the two teams. While Victor Osimhen, Terem Moffi, Samuel Chukwueze, and even Alex Iwobi and Joe Aribo had chances to score, they were either wasteful or stopped by the hosts' defence.

However, as the game progressed, it appeared that all the constant running to close up openings in the back line and sprinting up field to break into counter attacks, started to take a toll on the Guinea Bissau's players. As the strain set in and the players tired out, there was a noticeable drop in their defensive intensity. This allowed Nigeria to create more chances, with Osimhen hitting the post and substitute Joe Aribo forcing a save from the goalkeeper. Even defender Kenneth Omeruo joined the attacking players in search of a goal, which showed their desperation to win the game.

Despite their numerous chances, Nigeria was unable to convert any of them until the half-hour penalty which the referee, Samir Guezzaz, wasted no time to award for a tackle on Bright Osayi-Samuel by Fali Candé inside the box. Over two legs, the Super Eagles could not score in open play, which highlights their lack of clinical finishing in front of goal. This was a major concern as the essence of scoring goals to win games, cannot be overemphasised especially at this level. Osimhen's attempt to find a goal was demonstrated by how he was incessantly flagged offside. It is another demonstration of the absence of technical direction that left the Napoli forward mostly isolated in some moments of the game. This needs to be addressed by the coaching staff to ensure that he gets more support from his teammates.

In terms of the Super Eagles' overall strategy, their use of a 4-4-2 formation has not allowed them to perform to the best of their abilities. Despite boasting a squad of individual talented players, the formation appears to be a continuing hindrance to their attacking play. Coach Jose Peseiro seems reluctant to experiment with different formations and has been slow to make changes during games when the strategy at play and the players involved are not delivering expected dividends.

The work to improve the performance must begin from