The Twists And Turns Of The 34th AFCON Competition

 

 

Video: The goal that crippled the Super Eagles(Courtesy CAF_Online)

The 34^th AFCON hosted by Cote D’Ivoire carried with it some of the most dramatic moments in African football. It was a bundle of excitement, determination, and the vicissitude of fate in diverse actions of our daily lives.

It started with the confusion of the Elephants sacking their coach Jean Louis Gasset, after losing two matches whilst on the verge of exiting at the group stages from a competition they were hosting.  Their 0-4 loss to Equatorial Guinea was damning with their victors considered a far lesser football force and their most prominent players wallowing at the bottom of the lower leagues in Europe, compared to the Ivoirians who had players rubbing shoulders with some of the world’s best! The situation looked crazy, with the hosts on the brink of being eliminated, spectators dried up at the venues, leaving the stadium for birds, visiting fans, AFCON officials, and cameramen.

The twists and turns of the competition saw the hosts narrowly qualify for the second round and the local spectators returned to the stadium and the tension of the knockout stages began. Most of the matches were predictable, but in the matches at Abidjan (Egypt vs Republic of Congo), (Nigeria vs Cameroon), Yamoussoukro (Senegal vs Cote d’Ivoire), and San Pedro (Morocco vs South Africa), everyone expected fireworks and indeed, the drama these matches was much. The match between hosts Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal rose to its crescendo and against bookmakers' predictions, the Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire did the unexpected by beating the defending champions. It was an unexpected result; the Taranga Lions had not lost within the African continent for over two years and losing to Cote D’Ivoire, who had crawled to the second round as one of the best losers, looked unfathomable. Alas, it was about football, the game of drama! South Africa beat Morocco, Egypt lost to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria beat Cameroon.

The quarter finals had giant killers Cape Verde who had beaten Mauritania in the second round playing against South Africa in the quarter finals. It was an exhilarating match, with both sides looking equally matched and it dragged into penalties, where the South African goalkeeper, Ronwen Williams, made an everlasting statement in AFCON folklore by saving four penalties, to take his team to the semi-finals. The Elephants continued with their heroics and cut down the Mali national team in the last minute and last kick of the extra time and in another dramatic fashion. They had started to believe in themselves. The local coach Emerse Fae, had tweaked the team to play to their full strength but their initial stumbles, still made them less considered by other teams.

With their underwhelming performance at the 33^rd AFCON Competition in Cameroon and losing the FIFA World Cup in a despicable manner, Nigeria’s Super Eagles, stumbled to a draw in their first match against Equatorial Guinea and beat eventual winners, Cote D’Ivoire in the second match. They came with a large collection of brilliant players, including Victor Osimhen, the African Footballer of the Year but their style was unclear. Like Cote D’Ivoire, Nigeria’s confidence as they progressed in the competition. Nigeria overcame the onslaught of South Africa’s Bafana Bafana in the semi-finals, but in the finals, against the Elephants, despite taking the lead they could not continue to soak the pressure with the Ivoirians boosted by the home crowd. It was a sad ending for the Super Eagles of Nigeria, but for the Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire, it was a dream come true.

 

SUPER EAGLES OF NIGERIA AND LESSONS FROM ABIDJAN

 

The Super Eagles of Nigeria narrowly lost 2-1 to the Elephants of Cote d'Ivoire in the 34th AFCON Competition.  Several Nigerian football supporters felt a deep loss but in retrospect, the team exceeded the expectations of Nigerians by getting to the final of the tournament. For some, it was a good result for Nigeria and for many others, the result could have been better.

 

ASSESSING THE SUPER EAGLES AT AFCON

For the past two years, it has been an underwhelming performance for the Super Eagles in their matches. The team plays without a style, character, or purpose, leaving their matches boring and abysmal. Though they qualified for the 34th AFCON despite losing to minnows such as CAR, their records of losses and draws in friendly matches were mind-boggling. To further exacerbate the situation was the perennial errors in the back line, but specifically with goalkeeping. For a long period, the Super Eagles of Nigeria have been a great pain to watch, despite the large collection of Nigerian footballers across the World when Joe Peseiro took over; everyone expected that this journeyman could take Nigeria to paradise, and truly he did but at great tool to the mental health of most fans. Even at the 34^th AFCON, the Super Eagles performed far below their optimal level and despite the final result, Nigerian Football must do their utmost to get the right coach to take the team to a better level.

The capabilities of a coach to use the assets available to meet the desired mandate given to him remain the greatest yardstick by which they’re judged throughout their reign. Apart from match results, it’s also important for teams to create excitement for their supporters for herein lies the essence of every sport. Fortunately for Jose Peseiro, the outcome of the 34th AFCON competition counts in his favor but everyone would admit that the team played far below their potential. The players sacrificed beyond their physical capabilities and the spectators toiled to watch these matches due to formations that put unnecessary pressure on the team.

 

EXPECTATIONS FOR THE SUPER EAGLES AFTER AFCON

Nigerians look forward to the World Cup qualifiers and the next AFCON with positive vibes and expect the Nigerian Football Federation(NFF) to use the lessons of the 34th AFCON to rejig the coaching team to enable the team seamlessly achieve their desired goals. Stanley Bobo Nwabali has solved the goalkeeping conundrum for the moment and we must find a lasting solution to getting some creative playmakers to enable the Super Eagles to operate at full throttle. Frank Onyeka and Alhassan Yusuf, at different times, did their best as spoilers in the midfield but the team needs a better ball-distributing player; this was greatly lacking at the AFCON. Victor Osimhen barely used his hustling instincts to make himself relevant as he never got optimal services to excel and the same can be said about many other players.

The rebuild has started and this is the best time to upgrade to a better future for the Super Eagles. Congratulations Nigeria!