By Jacob Ajom
Nigeria’s World Cup campaign took another serious blow when Zimbabwe, one of the countries whose national team fell in the same group with the Super Eagles, announced that their remaining two matches would be played in Durban, a South African city. With 11 points from 8 matches, the Super Eagles, like every other country in the group, can achieve 6points maximum if they win the remaining matches.
It must be noted that Zimbabwe, like Lesotho, play their home matches in South Africa. That has already tilted the scale in favour of the Bafana Bafana of South Africa who have played Lesotho twice and won both legs(6points),Zimbabwe once(3 points) and another 3 points in the waiting. It is a given that South Africa will beat Zimbabwe, anywhere in the country. Although the Super Eagles are third in the table, the other strong contenders in the group are the Republic f Benin(14 points) and Rwanda on 11 points, same as Nigeria.
Nigeria’s World Cup campaign has been mired with inconsistent performances by the Super Eagles, coupled with the administrative flaws that resulted in the instability in the team’s technical crew. Now that the Super Eagles are fighting for a spot in the play off, there are many teams that are far better than the Eagles in points and goal difference. With the precarious position of Nigeria in the qualifiers, the Super Eagles must win their remaining matches before knowing where they belong.
There are about nine second placed teams with higher points and better goal aggregates in the various groups that could be considered as favourites for the play off. In Group A Burkina Faso has 15 points with a plus 14 goal aggregate, Group B has DR Congo with 16 points and a plus 7 aggregate, Group Chas the Republic of Benin with a plus 4 goal aggregate.
Group D has Cameroon with 16 points and a plus 10 goal difference. Group F has Gabon with 19 points with a goal aggregate of plus six.
There are many other better second placed teams which spells doom for the Super Eagles World Cup aspirations. It’s tricky. But former Super Eagles assistant coach Sylvanus Okpala believes all hope is not lost yet. “There is still a lot to play for,” he said, in a chat with Sports Vanguard.
“When I was playing, I would play until there was nothing to play for again. We still have two matches to play, we have to win them for you to talk about whether we are going to qualify for the playoffs or not. There is no looking at the calculator. Just go out there and win the two matches.
Then you can ask yourself whether you are getting automatic qualification or a playoff.”
He said he has not lost hope yet on the Super Eagles qualifying for the World Cup but would not stick his neck on their chances. As if results on the pitch were not troubling enough, a deeper crisis continues to haunt Nigerian football. The Super Eagles have gone nearly three years without receiving match bonuses, and the backlog covers as many as 30 games, according to Nigerian sports journalist Oluwashina Okeleji. Speaking on Sporty FM on Wednesday, Okeleji explained how the situation has taken its toll on the players. “You have players who have not been paid their match bonuses going into 30 matches, dating back to thre eyears.
These players sometimes are not in the right frame of mind, “he said. According to Ghana web, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has previously received N17 billion from the federal government to settle outstanding bonuses, along with a$34 million grant from CAF. Despite that, players are still waiting, and this scandal adds another layer of frustration to a qualification campaign already plagued by inconsistency.
The payment dispute is only one part of Nigeria’s football problems as Okeleji further pinpointed wider structural issues, noting that Nigeria currently has just one FIFA and CAF-approved stadium in Uyo. There is also no technical centre where players can properly prepare. For the Super Eagles, the immediate challenge remains on the pitch, but without serious reform off it, Nigeria’s return to the world stage looks more uncertain than ever.
An editor with New Telegraph, Adekunle Salami talked about the instability in the technical crew as the bane of the Super Eagles. “It worked against the team and in the last match against South Africa, Chelle took a wrong step in his starting line up. Salami said it was wrong for coach Chelle to start with Ctril Dessers who was substituted twice in the previous match against Rwanda.
“Why did he leave Arokod are who scored the decider against Rwanda in Uyo on the bench?” he asked, adding, “lets forget the World Cup. We have lost it. Instead, let’s forget the World Cup and focus on the Nations Cup in December.”He is of the opinion that Nigeria’s escape route to restoring her pride and prestige is by winning the Africa Vup of Nations in Morocco.
The Super Eagles’ World Cup hope has been dimmed further by injuries to key members of the team. The list is long. The Coach Chelle tutored team will be up against Lesotho and Benin Republic respectively in their final two games in the World Cup qualifiers, and both games are key to their hopes of at least getting a playoff spot, if they fail to qualify automatically for the World Cup.
Ahead of the games, Raphael Onyedika has joined Lazio’s Fisayo Dele-Bashiru on the sidelines after picking up an injury in Club Brugge’s 5-5 draw against Westerlo. Although he has returned to full training, there is doubt around the availability of Wilfred Ndidi with Besiktas said to not be in a hurry to rush him back to action owing to his history with relapses. Ndidi went off injured during the Super Eagles 2-2 draw against South.
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