Let’s face the brass task. It would be easier for the proverbial carmel to pass through the eye of the needle than for Nigeria to qualify for the 2026 World Cup competition. Reason – South Africa has more ‘home’ games than others in the group with the Zimbabweans opting to play their home fixtures where they can garner points in South Africa. No chance. Not when Bafana Bafana are smelling blood with Nigeria’s wobbling performance in the first four qualification games. Super Eagles haven’t won a match which includes drawing Lesotho in Nigeria and holding the Zimbabweans to another nerve-wrenching draw. Need I remind ourselves about the Eagles’ shambolic 2-1 loss to the Republic of Benin on neutral ground in Cote d’ Ivoire. Note this game will be a piece of cake under the same setting for South Africa when the fixtures are played on this neutral ground. I love Nigeria but truth must be told if we hope to correct our flaws.
It is only the unrepentant optimist who won’t raise the alarm about Nigeria’s chances of qualifying for the next Mundial. I dare to be different. It serves us right. The rot of our game in churning out good and talented players from the nurseries, if they do exist, is far and wide apart from the dentition of 100 years 100-year-old humans. Let me state here categorically that the present Super Eagles are a bunch of average players (no thanks to the late Shuiabu Amodu), who talk too much before games are played rather than allow their outings to speak for their capabilities.
These loquacious players have made the Super Eagles lose their fear factor whenever they step onto the pitches for matches anywhere in the world. One can’t forget how Nigeria lost a 4-0 advantage to Sierra Leone to draw 4-4 against the Lone Stars inside the Samuel Osaigbovo Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City. The players won’t forget in a hurry how they were smuggled out of the stadium in a commando fashion to escape the wrath of the irate fans who were visibly miffed by their sickening performance on the night. Indeed, these Super Eagles are good for nothing, otherwise, how do you explain their insistence on having their share of the Africa Cup of Nations’ $4 million largesse for the last tournament in which Nigeria finished as runners-up to the eventual winners, Cote d’ Ivoire? For all that the players, coaches, and officials got from the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration as rewards for being beaten finalists, it leaves a sour taste in the mouth that they could be fighting for more cash after being paid all their entitlements, daily allowances, flight tickets and housed in some of the best hotels in the world anywhere they stayed.
I still insist that had President Tinubu not released N12 billion to the NFF to offset debts owed to the players, coaches, and officials across all the national teams, the Super Eagles wouldn’t have played in the finals of the last edition of the Africa Cup of Nations. So, those who during the Nations Cup told all of us that Nigeria would lift the diadem should allow us our sanity and stop blaming President Tinubu for doing what he did by rewarding the silver-winning Super Eagles. These are the enemies of the game here. Has he forgotten the ‘golden’ bronze Super Eagles?
Has he forgotten that he informed Nigerians that the Eagles with a Nigerian coach sitting on the technical crew bench was all that we needed to sail smoothly? This President Tinubu blame game is part of the gimmicks they use to sell themselves to the government to become members of any committee on the Super Eagles. I digress!
How much is $4 million that the players, coaches, and officials can’t ignore at a time the fans are grieving over a likely eight-year absence from the senior World Cup? As it is, the team is in a precarious fifth place in a group that has Lesotho, Zimbabwe, the Republic of Benin, and South Africa. Did I hear you say, dear reader, who the hell do they think they are? Absolutely.
Are the Eagles saying that they can’t resolve to qualify the country for the next Mundial by applying themselves the way they do during their European clubs’ matches? Isn’t it also true that some European clubs also owe big players some cash which we only get to read about when they are changing clubs? There are six matches left for the 2026 World Cup qualification series and we can only qualify if the players play for their fans as if their lives depend on it. The fans are tired of the players’ mercantile tendencies at such critical times when the country’s pride ought to be celebrated by beating our opponents groggy with goals.
