The Super Eagles dashed the hopes of Nigerians on Sunday for failing to win Equatorial Guinea in their first match of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON, holding in Cote D’Ivoire.
Ivan Salvador opened the scoring for Equatorial Guinea when he pulled a fast one on Super Eagles’ goalkeeper, Stanley Nwabali, in the 37th minute. But Napoli’s star Victor Osimhen netted in the 38th minute, levelling the score.
The game ended in a stalemate after the Super Eagles missed a lot of chances to convert goals.
Nigerians who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, said they were unimpressed by the team’s performance. They said they had expected the game to be a walkover for the Super Eagles.
“Nigeria (42) are ranked way above Equatorial Guinea (88) on the table and there are lots of big names playing in top leagues in the side, so I had expected an easy win for the Eagles,” Musa Mohammed, an Abuja resident told NAN.
“The team fumbled with the ball. They were not clinical in front of goal, and missed lots of chances, especially Osimhen’s missed opportunity in the second half. It was an abysmal show and I hope they regroup better ahead of their other group games.”
For Prince Bonachristus, another Abuja resident and a physical and health education teacher, the performance of the Nigerian team was abysmal.
“The defence was frail. They couldn’t clear up their lines. The attacking department also didn’t live up to expectations,” he said.
“The team didn’t play like there was something at stake. I hope that Jose Peseiro will do a better job with the team before their next game against hosts Cote d
D’Ivoire.”
Enugu residents who aired their views about the match were also unimpressed.
According to Chinedu Eze, “This is the worst team we have produced for the nation’s cup. So, to me, they are not going anywhere.”
Victor Ozeigbo said Nigeria stands no chance of winning the tournament.
“The team is ordinary, and to me, I don’t see them going far and that will be a big shame to Nigeria,” he said.
Nigerians who commented on Pilot News’ social media opinion poll after the game also expressed disappointment.
“What else do you expect from a team under clueless NFF? A team without Iheanacho! And they feel too big to approach offended Ighalo,” a comment by Ugo Paulinus reads.
“The vacuum created by Ighalo’s untimely exit from the team has not been filled. In the entire Nigerian league, they and the clueless coach couldn’t find another Mbah, Ighalo, Mikel etc. What an unfit and unprepared team!”
