Elvis
Despite advancement to the knockout stage of the ongoing AFCON tournament, there is an air of disappointment from fans concerning the team's performances and it is not difficult to see why. There was little or nothing to separate Nigeria, a supposed African footballing powerhouse from Guinea Bissau, who are ranked way lower than the former. But for Opa Sangante's unintentional yet costly error, the match may have ended in a stalemate.
There were missed chances in both the first and second halves from both sides, and there also was the new piece on the soccer board at work; the Video Assistant Referee. Nigeria almost doubled the lead through Moses Simon, whose cross had led to the first goal, but he was denied by smart goalkeeping by Jonas Mendes. Osimhen, the Napoli talisman, also scuffed a chance to get to the ball before the keeper, highlighting his somewhat profligate nature throughout this tournament. He also missed a wonderful chance after he met a sublime cross from Ola Aina, who is arguably Nigeria's best player of the tournament so far. He missed another more difficult header but could have scored a goal when the keeper saved his shot. However, the rebound shot saw the ball go into the back of the net but the VAR ruled it as offside. Franculino Dju thought he had brought his team on level terms with Nigeria when he riffled a left shot home, but the assistant's flag stopped the celebration in its track.
The Nigerian Keeper, Stanley Nwabili made a blend of good and somewhat awkward saves to keep us hanging by a thread, and Kenneth Omeruo had a decent game in the absence of Troost-Ekong, the skipper. It is fair to say that the defensive side of the Super Eagles is the only reason they made it thus far. With just one goal from open play in three matches, albeit the penalty kick scored by the captain, Jose Peseiro should have a lot to say to the likes of Osimhen, Lookman, and Chukwueze, who sort glory all night long at the expense of the team. It is important to know that on paper, Nigeria may have had the best-attacking talent coming into the competition, with the likes of Iheanacho, Moffi, Onuachu, and Musa yet to make any significant contribution in the tournament.
Who would have thought that Equatorial Guinea would top a group with Nigeria and Cote d'Ivoire in it? Football truly is anyone's game, so we will forget about how the hosts of the competition have been fairing so far. Having finished second in Group A, the Super Eagles will take on the runners-up of Group C which will be either Senegal, (which is not in their best interests, considering their scintillating style of play), Guinea, or Cameroon, as it is almost mathematically impossible for the Gambia to stake a claim.
What can we say? Fans of Nigeria, sit back and hope that something changes very quickly... else, they just might run out of luck!!!
