Super Eagles! It’s time to be B.B.C!!!
It is a month to the Super Eagles crucial World Cup qualifiers against Rwanda on 21 March at the Amahoro Stadium in Kigali, before playing Zimbabwe four days later at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo.
An underwhelming start to the qualifying campaign has left Nigeria with a meagre three points, garnered from their opening four matches. The Super Eagles are in a precarious position as they currently sit fifth in a six-team Group C, four points off the pace.
The only positive, however, is that there are still six matches to be played—six huge games the Super Eagles must take as finals and are “condemned” to win at all costs.
The three-time African champions must face the somewhat uphill task of winning their remaining games one at a time and, most importantly, together as a team, be it at home or on the road.
Crucial to them achieving their goal of a ticket to the World Cup in North America is finding a way to navigate the upcoming matches in March and amassing maximum points from the two fixtures; anything short of that may prove calamitous to the Super Eagles chances of qualifying for the World Cup for the second time in a row, with Nigerians yet to totally heal from the team’s failure to reach Qatar in 2022.
Some solace can be taken in knowing that a lot has changed since the last qualifying match—a 2-1 away loss to Benin Republic, coached by German Gernot Rohr. This disappointing defeat was followed by the resignation of Finidi George, who was in the Super Eagles dugout at the Stade Felix Houphouet-Boigny in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, last June.
Former Nigeria international and NFF Technical Director, Austin Eguavoen, took over the team in an interim capacity and successfully helped Nigeria book a ticket to the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals in Morocco later this year.
With two wins, two draws, and a loss in five games in the AFCON qualifiers, it was not the best of performances from the Super Eagles, prompting the Nigeria Football Federation to search for a permanent head coach.
The answer, however, caused some raised eyebrows among Nigerians as Eric Chelle was appointed in January, and much has since been said about the merits or otherwise of the Malian’s appointment.
Nonetheless, that is not the focus of this piece, as despite the importance of team selection and tactics, the core of the responsibilities falls on the players.
It is time for the Super Eagles players to come up with a winning mentality and attitude, irrespective of tactics and/or team selection. It’s time for them to have a “fire in the belly” approach. Time for them to stand up and be counted. Time for them to be Bullish, Brave, and Confident (BBC).
Bullish…Brave… Confident!
There is no doubt in my mind that the team has talent and the ability to turn things around. I also don’t have to start regaling anyone with names of the top-quality players the team parades.
At this stage, talent and ability alone will not be nearly enough. The players must become mentality monsters! They must want it more than their opponents. They must be BULLISH… believe they are good enough; BRAVE… especially in away games; and CONFIDENT… while avoiding a tendency to be overconfident or arrogant, leading to complacency.
There’s a football school of thought that says while games are played on the pitch, they are won in the mind. A refusal to lose, a mentality to leave everything on the battleground, a gladiator mindset that is ready to fight to a standstill.
That is what the Super Eagles need for the rest of the qualifiers, as anything less, and we might just come up short!
As a parting note, for the Super Eagles to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup to be co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, the team must play out of their minds and be in WARRIOR MODE!!
Best of luck to Eric Chelle and the boys…
