BEVERLY HILLS, March 27, (THEWILL) –Â The Super Eagles of Nigeria need an image-redeeming win against the Squirrels of the Republic of Benin to get back to reckoning in the qualification series, on the one hand, and banish the disappointing draws last time out against the Leone Stars of Sierra Leone, on the other.
In the first leg of those double-header crackers in the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City, the Super Eagles led by four goals inside the first 40 minutes only to completely lose their bearings and allow the Leone Stars to stage an unprecedented comeback for a disappointing draw for Nigeria.
Promising to improve upon that embarrassment, the Super Eagles travelled to Freetown in Sierra Leone for the reverse fixture aware that for Nigerians, nothing less than a solid performance with a better result than the colossal implosion of the first leg to bring about some restoration of their badly bruised reputation will be acceptable.
This was because losing grip of a four-goal lead in the manner it occurred at that November match against the third-placed team in the qualifying group put a nasty dent on the high ratings of the Super Eagles on the continent and globally. It was disgraceful enough to merit a sit-down between the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and the technical bench of the Nigerian team.
However, the team’s promise to produce a better result in the second leg came to nought as the match had nothing of the exciting goal-fest of the thrilling 4-4 first-leg in Benin City. Instead, the much subdued game had a similar implication: both sides earned a point for their inability to break the deadlock on the goalless tie.
It left many Nigerians questioning the tactical acumen of the technical crew of the Super Eagles because it was difficult to square up the poor results over two legs with the quality of the talents the national team boasts of. Some called for relieving the German coach, Gernot Rohr, of his duties for failing to deliver the expected goods for the country’s football fortunes on the continent and across the globe.
Responding to the outcry over these performances, the Federal Ministry of Sports and Youth Development (MSYD) which oversees the affairs of the NFF, stepped in to get a handle of the situation and work out a path towards progress. Sunday Dare, in charge of the Ministry, at a review meeting of the Technical Report of the Sierra Leone matches with NFF officials insisted on holding the coaching unit to higher standards.
As a consequence of that review, the MSYD agreed with the NFF to effect some changes towards improving the performances of the national team to get results. These changes and adjustments constituted administrative adjustments that included the provision of the Super Eagles with a physical trainer, a nutritionist, a psychologist and two or more competent and experienced match readers.
Added to those was a mandate to make the German coach inject three to four home-based players into the Super Eagles squad picked from the domestic professional league. Rohr was therefore authorised to watch weekly Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL) games to provide him with the background necessary to make the best picks from the local football pool of players to fit into the best positions in the national squad.
As an important standard for measuring how these changes were going to improve the football played by the Super Eagles going forward, the MSYD also required the NFF to evolve a scientific template to be applied in benchmarking the performance of the Rohr and the squad for regular performance checks to be carried out following international engagements.
The Saturday fixture against the Béninoise Squirrels will be the first time Rohr’s charges will feature again after these changes came into effect. On the plus side, the NPFL is represented on the squad sheet as the coach included Enyimba goalkeeper John Noble as the lone selection from the domestic league in his initial selection. Then, when travel restrictions cut into the team selection numbers, Rohr called up Abia Warriors defender Adekunle Adeleke and Enyimba striker Anayo Iwuala as like-for-like replacements for Spain based Kenneth Omeruo, defender for Leganes in the Segunda division, and Sadiq Umar, striker with UD Almeria, respectively.
For the difference that changes in nutrition, trainers, psychologists and the use of experienced match readers will effect in the final outcomes, the game with the Squirrels will provide. The three-time AFCON champions top group L on eight points against Benin’s seven points and will need a draw or a victory to inch closer to picking the sole ticket for the continental tournament.
What must concern them the most is that the Benin Republic side are a bastion of strength on their home grounds. Their senior men’s side has not been defeated at the Stade Charles de Gaulle, Porto Novo, since a 3-1 defeat to Algeria in a World Cup qualification game in 2013. This eight-year unbeaten streak makes it abundantly obvious that the Super Eagles have a huge task before them if they intend to redeem themselves and show improvements from the changes taking place.
The truth that there are no minnows on the continent is demonstrated by the fact that the Squirrels were quarter-finalists at the last AFCON competition. They eliminated the highly-rated Morocco team from the round of 16 at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations against the expectation of football pundits due largely to their compact defensive structure, which French coach, Michel Dussuyer, has built the Béninoise team around.
THEWILL believes that it is to the advantage of the current setup of the Super Eagles squad that they have some in-form forwards in Kelechi Iheanacho from the English Premier League club Leicester City and Paul Onuachu, the highest goal-scorer in the Belgian League playing for Genk, featuring in the striking lineup. Completing the striking trio are Nigeria’s consistent scoring boots of Victor Osimhen, who unfortunately injured his shoulder in the first draw against Sierra Leone after netting a brace. They have the quality to break through tight spaces and find goals.
The other significant benefit to the team facing the Squirrels, THEWILL believes, is the defensive block that will keep the Béninoise forwards at bay. Inspired displays by Leon Balogun, in defense, helped his club Rangers FC to successfully carry the Scottish Premier League title for the first time in a decade, as they halted defending champions, Celtic’s advance to a 10th consecutive league title.
There is also Zaidu Sanusi in the defense lineup, whose club FC Porto eliminated the Cristiano Ronaldo’s Serie A side Juventus in one of the upsets of the season’s UEFA Champions League to assist in shoring up the backline to keep it impervious to the expected attacks from the opponent’s attackers and help Nigeria break that eight-year unbeaten streak of the Béninoise.
If the improvements so far made blend with the quality in the squad and they play as a cohesive unit without the impact of their about six-hour road and boat trip that took them from Ikoyi to Ilashe to Badagry to Porto-Novo to Cotonou and back to Porto-Novo with the embarrassing “moonlight” training session on Friday night, there is every possibility that a victory will be their reward and a guaranteed ticket to AFCON.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
