It is unthinkable that renowned marathoners Ethiopia will be in Brazil for the 2014 World Cup, ahead of Nigeria’s Super Eagles. True, upsets are common in soccer, but not of the magnitude that will witness Ethiopia toppling African champions Nigeria. Tufiakwa, many will say, not out of arrogance or disrespect.
One isn’t expecting the Ethiopians to lie down to be slaughter. After all, they qualified from a group where many had written them off as upstarts. They have promised-as expected- to beat the Eagles in Addis Ababa. The humidity may affect the Euro-laden Eagles stars. Our players are used to cold climate. Having gone to Ethiopia during the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, they have an idea of what to expect from the fans and the undulating turf inside the stadium.
But Nigerians are not new comers to high altitude matches. Beside, the NFF has provided the antidote by ensuring that the team arrives in Addis Ababa Saturday morning.
Eagles’ biggest challenge would not be the Ethiopians, but themselves. If they put their heart to the game and play to their potentials, the Walya Antelopes will be a stroll in the park.
Ethiopian fans may have this tendency to take the law into their own hands, but they understand the game. They are very passionate about their national team, just as we do. But, if the Eagles bury their players with early goals on Sunday, the task of qualifying for Brazil 2014 would have been half-done at dusk.
Victory will be guaranteed if the players work in unity. The ball should be given to the player with the clearest chance to score goals. Only goals count at the end of matches, not how well the team played or dribbled the most.
From the blast of the whistle, the mandate should be clear to the Ethiopians- that we want to beat them at home. It won’t be out of place, given our players’ pedigree.
With our players’ experience, they should dictate the pace of the game. Their passes should be accurate and shots targeted at the goal post. Our players’ objective on Sunday should be to win the game in the first half with plenty of goals. Leaving the goals late could be counter-productive because the weather would have taken its toll on our Europe-based stars.
A command performance from the Eagles will frustrate the Ethiopians. It will also kill their enthusiasm to fight to win the game. The challenge for the Eagles rests with how they implement the coach’s match plan and improvise when the need arises.
The Eagles have struggled in most away games because of the players’ sloppiness. We watched in awe in Kigali as the Rwandans drilled our better exposed players on the game’s rudiments. It took a tongue lashing from the chief coach for the players to rise to the occasion. Even with the harsh words from Stephen Keshi, it took the heroics of goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama to secure the barren draw result in one of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
In Monrovia, Enyeama was the villain, with his movement off the goal line, conceding two cheap goals that gave the Liberians a 2-2 draw.
Those were the Eagles’ early days, many would argue. But it is important to remind the players that there should be zero tolerance for mistakes when the game begins in Addis Ababa.
Keshi must field only our best players. He must read the game tactically. His changes must be spot-on. He must not hesitate to pull out any fumbling player whose replacement should play according to the coach’s instructions.
The Eagles have struggled on undulating surfaces in Africa because they are scared of sustaining career-threatening injuries. You cannot blame anyone for such caution. Yet they must adapt because the platform of playing at the World Cup cannot be lost on the
