The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations is just a few hours away from kick off in the Ivory Coast and the Super Eagles will attract one of the biggest eyeballs on the tournament starting with with their Group A encounter against Equatorial Guinea at Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan on Sunday afternoon.
The expectations on the Nigeria national team is very high no thanks to their rich AFCON history as the most decorated team with a total of 15 medals of which three are gold.
The stakes are so high that a poor outing in the Ivory Coast would draw the ire of fans back at home and abroad as well. Such is the weight of what these passionate people spread across the globe want to see happen.
With all that buzz, the Super Eagles should have hit the ground running in their pre-tournament preparations and even though they seemed to do that in their 12-0 bashing of a United Arab Emirates-based club, they were brought back to earth when fellow AFCON 2023 participants Guinea defeated them 2-0 in the next warm-up friendly.
We no go gree for anybody. Update your calendar! Let the games begin!#SoarSuperEagles #LetsDoItAgain #Afcon2023 pic.twitter.com/U2rbVokfgS
— ???????? Super Eagles (@NGSuperEagles) January 11, 2024
The loss left a bitter taste in the mouths of fans who expected the Eagles to get the better of the National Elephants owing to the gulf in class as per squad strength and football history.
Speaking of squad strength, it’s 11 years since Nigeria won it’s last AFCON when they defeated Burkina Faso 1-0 in Johannesburg courtesy of Sunday Mba, who to some is considered a legend for his heroic act.
Looking back at that squad, it was not the most fanciful of teams. Nigerians were used to seeing the likes of Segun Odegbami, Rashidi Yekini, Jay-Jay Okocha, Kanu Nwankwo, Sunday Oliseh, Taribo West, Stephen Keshi and others over the years but at the 2013 edition, fans had to contend with names such as Efe Ambrose, Azubuike Egwuekwe, Brown Ideye, Emmanuel Emenike, Victor Moses, Ejike Uzoenyi, Sunday Mba, Juwon Oshaniwa, Kenneth Omeruo among others. These players featured for modest clubs in Europe while some where based at home in the then-Nigeria Premier League (NPL).
In fact, Nigeria was not considered a favourite for the tournament seeing they had to contend with the likes of Ghana that had Asamoah Gyan and Asamoah Gyan, Mali with Mohamed Sissoko and Seydou Keita and an Ivory Coast that boasted of names such as Kolo Toure, Yaya Toure, Didier Drogba, Salomon Kalou among others.
The Super Eagles squad under the watch of the late Keshi as manager, however defied the odds to triumph, getting the better of the Ivorians and Malians in the knockout phase and ultimately Burkina Faso in the final to win the title which will be remembered for years to come. The success of that year has also remained the yardstick for enthusiasts who clamour to see more home-based players in the national team as the likes of Mba, Godfrey Oboabona, Egwuekwe, Ejike Uzoenyi, Godfrey Oboabona and Chigozie Agbim were all playing in the NPL before heading abroad.
Fast-forward to the current squad in the Ivory Coast, it’s believed there is better quality with names such as Victor Osimhen, Kelechi Iheanacho, Terem Moffi, Alex Iwobi, Samuel Chukwueze, Moses Simon, Ademola Lookman, Calvin Bassey as well as old guards from 2013 in Omeruo and Ahmed Musa. They are however not showing anything close to what the 2013 AFCON-winning squad displayed. The last AFCON outing was below par with a round of 16 exit in the hands of Tunisia despite being the only side to finish the group stage with a 100% record.
The Eagles have not been able to put in convincing performances under manager Jose Peseiro, losing at home to Guinea-Bissau during the 2023 AFCON qualifiers and drawing against Lesotho and Zimbabwe in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, with doubts creeping in that back-to-back non-qualification for the Mundial could be a reality. Withdrawals to key players Wilfred Ndidi, Victor Boniface and Sadiq Umar due to injury has not helped either.
All these leave more doubt on how far the Super Eagles can go in the Ivory Coast. Facing the tournament hosts, Equatorial Guinea and Guinea-Bissau won’t come easy as these sides are ready to make a statement.
If Nigeria can’t put in the kind of performances that is worthy of being a champion, it will leave the success of 2013 in memory while fans will keep scratching their heads on when the next period of triumph will come.
