Nigeria’s 3-0 defeat to Guinea-Bissau has deepened fears of another major tournament failure, with the recurring problems of player selection, squad quality and Eric Chelle’s tactical decisions leaving the Super Eagles’ AFCON hopes in serious danger.
A 3-0 defeat at the hands of Guinea-Bissau left the chances of another major tournament absence staring in the faces of Nigerians, as the Super Eagles continue to seek a good riddance to the bad rubbish that has apparently come to stay.
Nothing longer feels scary about the future, even in the face of this persistent inconsistency, because the present sells no dreams, and whenever it looks as though the country has taken a step forward, reality hits so much that you realise it has also taken two backwards.
These painful realities are not just evident when the team loses a game. They were present during the wins and draws.
And fate hasn’t been kind to them either, because of the 12 groups in the 2027 AFCON qualifiers, they happened to be drawn in one alongside one of the hosts, where only one other team will be chanced to progress.
Nevertheless, the other teams in Group L, aside from Nigeria, are ranked 100+ by FIFA, and Guinea-Bissau, who has just humiliated the three-time African champions, are 106 places below the Super Eagles.106 places.
That’s too substantial to even doubt the chances of Nigeria progressing beyond these teams with ease, because the African Wild Dogs also double as the least-ranked team in the group, with Madagascar (104) and Tanzania (112) considerably ranked higher.
After struggling to edge out Madagascar on home soil, their vulnerabilities was laid bare in Bissau on Tuesday, against a team who moved top of the standings with a perfect start and established themselves as the favourites to reach the tournament proper.
Reaching the next AFCON has potentially become a mountain to climb for the Super Eagles, as winning all their remaining games may not even be enough should Guinea-Bissau also do so and lose only the reverse fixture in Nigeria.
The difficult question now is who gets the blame when a fate that is becoming inevitable finally becomes a reality.After their historic World Cup qualification failure, the Nigerian Football Federation has undergone an overhaul, including securing Eric Chelle on a new contract and better terms that give him better influence on important decisions.
Two games into the qualifiers, and the long-standing weakness has resurfaced again, because in the end, you can only make the bigger difference on the pitch, but the players aren’t just capable of doing that.
The failure is again centered by the players. We have the same troubles recurring because we parade the same players.It’s no coincidence that the only two goals against Madagascar came from debutants, George Ilenikhena and Moses Usor, both of whom were not included in the starting XI in the loss to Guinea-Bissau.
But the players’ faults are secondary.
For Eric Chelle, that is where the national team job is so much different from a club, because you have the wealth of options, and you can always pick your preference in a nation as populous as Nigeria.
The Franco-Malian has been privileged to see several Nigeria players, and in the end, he made the decision on who gets picked in the squad and who gets selected on matchdays. So he is most accountable for whatever follows.
The floodlights have faded, and it makes you ponder if it would ever come, the good riddance to this bad rubbish, because the longer the faces remain unchanged, this phase, for the Super Eagles, stays unchanged.
