Last Saturday, the Super Eagles qualified for its sixth World Cup after a 1-0 win over Zambia in Uyo to become one of the 23 teams that have booked their place at the soccer fiesta in Russia next year. In this piece, ADEYINKA ADEDIPE takes a look at the road to qualification and what the authorities need to do to ensure that the team does better at the World Cup.
The celebration that greeted Nigeria’s qualification for the Russia 2018 World Cup (the sixth time) reverberated all around the country. Fans relished the performance of the Super Eagles against a resolute Chipolopolo of Zambia who were in Uyo to scuttle or delay Nigeria’s passage to Russia. The match will, no doubt, go down as the most difficult in the qualifying series for the Eagles who had to dig deep into their arsenal for the hard-earned victory. It was clear that the Zambians came to Nigeria with a strong conviction that they could upset the Nigerian team at its backyard.
They hassled the Eagles throughout the game and even had a goal disallowed for offside before Alex Iwobi finally scored the decisive goal in the second half. The ‘patient’ fans, who had stood by the Eagles all through the game singing and chanting the names of their heroes, rose in unison to begin the party. They had so much belief in the team and never gave the Zambians any chance of levelling the scores even when they threatened. Inspirational forward Victor Moses had the opportunity to put the result beyond doubt, but he missed a glorious chance in the dying minutes of the games.
Against the Zambians, the trademark pressing game of the Eagles was lacking as they failed to string passes together, but they made up for that deficiency with their physical presence and ensured that the Zambians were thwarted each time they had a goal scoring chance. The game was a nervy one for the Eagles who knew that a win was what they needed to take them to the ‘promise land’. The Zambians, on the othehand, were also aware that upsetting the Eagles would be put them in good stead for qualification. The Eagles inability to put passes together could also be attributed to the bumpy nature of the pitch.
Like the biblical Israelites who went through thick and thin to get to Canaan, the Eagles waded through the Zambians hurdle and eventually made it to the promise land. Just like Canaan flowed with milk and honey, Russia surely flows with good football artistry as top class players converge for the biggest football show from June 14 to July 15.
The beautiful scenes that heralded the vital win were breathtaking. Players threw Coach Gernot Rohr and boss of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Amaju Pinnick into the air, while they also went close to the stands to applaud the fans that have stood by them this far. Some went on their knees in prayers to thank God for the achievement; others simply danced before exiting the pitch.
No one would have thought that the Eagles would be home and dry after five games when the draws were made pitching Nigeria against reigning Africa Nations Cup (AFCON) champions, Cameroun and past winners, Algeria and Zambia. The group was labelled the proverbial group of death with many predicting that the fight for the sole ticket would go down to the wire. The four teams have strong pedigree in African football with Zambia the only team yet to play at the World Cup.
Despite winning three and drawing one after four games, including an opening day away win over Zambia in Ndola, Coach Rohr knew his ward were in for a torrid time in the reverse fixtures in Uyo. The Zambians had just recoded two victories against the Algeria national team, which boosted their morale before the game in Uyo. They knew they had nothing to lose but everything to gain if they beat the Eagles.
And Rohr was desperate to have his stars in camp early so he could put forward his match plan to them. He had admitted that the Zambians were tough customers and that the Eagles needed to be at their best to win. Though the game was very tough, the Nigerian side did what they had to do to nip victory.
After the victory in Ndola, the Eagles followed it up with a 3-1 win over Algeria, while the Camerounians also fell 0-4 to the Eagles in Uyo. After a 1-1 draw in Cameroon on match day four and amassing 10 points in the process, it was clear that the Eagles were on their way to Russia and only the Nigeria team could truncate its ambition of playing in Russia. However, the Eagles stuck to the plan by grinding out a 1-0 win over Zambia last Saturday to berth in Russia despite having an away game left against Algeria.
Pundits have suggested that the home-based Eagles should be allowed to play the’ inconsequential’ game in Algiers, but Rohr has insisted that the foreign-based stars would be used to prosecute the game as he continues to rebuild the Eagles into a world and worthy brand once again. Also, the Eagles performance in the qualifiers should boost Nigeria’s rating in the monthly FIFA ranking hence the need to approach the game against Algeria with upmost importance.
Rohr said he is not carried away by their qualification for the World Cup, describing the game against the Chipolopolo as difficult. “I must admit that it was a very difficult game for the Eagles. We didn’t underrate this team because we saw on video what they did to Algeria and Cameroon.”
“We knew it would be a very tough game and they gave us a chase. We didn’t want to concede a goal and we were lucky to get the goal which took us to Russia.Starting with Simon Moses and bringing in Alex Iwobi was not easy for us, but that made the difference.
“In five games, we have four victories and one draw – a result I didn’t believe because of the teams in this group. It is not finished because the most difficult will be to prepare for a good outing at the World Cup.”
Expectedly, congratulatory message poured in after the win. President Muhammadu Buhari through his spokesman, Femi Adesina, described the hard-earned victory as “very sweet, soothing and a 57th Independence Anniversary gift to the nation.” He applauded the Eagles for the feat of making Nigeria the first African country to qualify for Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup tournament.
Buhari called on all Nigerians to apply the values of perseverance, resilience, discipline, hard work and team-spirit which propelled the footballers to excel since the beginning of the qualifying matches, to all sectors of national life.
He promised that the Federal Government would continue to support the team within available resources so that the nation would maximise the unifying potentials of sports in general and football in particular. He enjoined the entire team and Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) officials to remain steadfast and focused when they begin preparations for the global football fiesta in order to make Nigeria proud.
The President urged public, private organisations and well-meaning Nigerians to continue to assist the Super Eagles as the team heads for a sixth appearance at the summit of football competition. He also appreciated the government of Akwa Ibom State for the invaluable support it has been rendering to the football team, describing it as worthy of emulation.
With Eight months to the World Cup, it is clear that there is more work to be done than before the qualifier started. It is a welcome development that the coach has said he was not carried away by the feat of the Eagles. So, he will have to monitor the progress of his players at their different clubs, while also hoping that they stay injury-free and stay in top form for the fiesta. The NFF should take advantage of the international window to organise top friendly games for the Eagles. With proper planning it will not be difficult to get quality friendlies considering that the Eagles have qualified for the World Cup.
With everything in place, the Eagles should surpass their second round finish at the World Cup.
