By Jimmy
Nigeria’s premier football team, the Super Eagles, is regarded as one of the best men’s football team in Africa.
In fact, according to FIFA’s official ranking, the Super Eagles rank sixth, with 1490.48 points, just 168 points behind top-ranked Morocco’s 1658.49 points. Morocco’s first place is as a result of their stellar performance during the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which saw them advance as far as the semi-finals while eliminating powerhouses like Spain and Portugal along the way.
Nigeria, unfortunately, was absent from the tournament, thanks to defeat at the hands of eleventh-placed Ghana during the World Cup qualifiers.
And it seems history is about to repeat itself, as the Super Eagles are not matching their name and reputation with the expected vigor. Indeed, they have failed to win their first two games in the World Cup Qualifiers, as draws against 46th-placed Lesotho and 34th-placed Zimbabwe have seen them take only two points from a possible six.
SEE: Our team played well against Super Eagles because we didn’t respect them – Lesotho head coach
The Super Eagles not featuring in the next World Cup will be a major blow to the country’s integrity. Here are some reasons this may happen:
Peseiro makes too many questionable decisions
Many of Peseiro’s decisions, especially his team selection, have been illogical. Against Zimbabwe, he left out Paul Onuachu and Alhassan Yusuf, who are having the best time at Trabzonspor and Royale Antwerp. Yet, he called up Joe Aribo and Umar Sadiq, who are both struggling at Southampton and Real Sociedad, respectively.
Aribo has started just one match for Southampton this season, but Peseiro tossed him into the first eleven in a crucial away game.
Kelechi Iheanacho was Nigeria’s best player in Uyo with Victor Osimhen’s absence. However, Peseiro benched him in Butare.
SEE: Nigerians call for removal of Super Eagles’ coach after disappointing match against Zimbabwe
Super Eagles’ attack is toothless without Victor Osimhen
Napoli forward Victor Osimhen scored ten of Nigeria’s 22 goals in six games during qualification to help Nigeria book a spot at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations tournament.
In his absence, the Super Eagles have found the back of the net only two times in two games and missed loads of scoring chances to leave the country’s World Cup hopes in jeopardy.
Nigeria indeed boasts several exciting attackers in Europe, but none of Victor Boniface, Umar Sadiq, Terem Moffi, and Taiwo Awoniyi could come to the team’s rescue when needed.
Safe to say, Nigeria stands no chance of impressing at AFCON 2023 in Ivory Coast, not to talk of the World Cup, if Osimhen is not in the team.
Lack of a reliable goalkeeper
Ever since Vincent Enyeama’s retirement in 2015, the Super Eagles have not had a reliable man between the sticks. The closest they came to a decent goalie was when Carl Ikeme got his place in the national team; however, a health challenge soon forced him to retire.
Francis Uzoho, who currently plays in Cyprus and is the Super Eagles’ first choice, has been inconsistent and extremely prone to avoidable errors.
If the Super Eagles want a run at the next World Cup, they will have to beef up their security between the sticks.
READ: Four goalkeepers who could solve Super Eagles goalkeeping issues
Calvin Bassey is not a center-back
There is a deliberate effort to convert Calvin Bassey from a left-back to a center-back at Fulham with Marco Silva and the national team with Jose Peseiro. However, results across the board show that the transformation, no matter how brilliant it seems on paper, is not working on the pitch.
Bassey gets his positioning wrong almost all the time. Strikers make runs past him easily, and he does little covering for his center-back partner. He is a left-back who still thinks and plays like a left-back.
The Super Eagles have conceded first in the four games Bassey and Semi Ajayi have started in defense.
This experimentation has not worked during the World Cup qualifiers and will not have been perfected before the AFCON kicks off. And Nigeria will definitely not be qualifying for the World Cup if this continues.
SEE: I won’t back Nigeria to win AFCON 2023 – Ex-Super Eagles player, Abbey
