Tony Ubani
30 January 2008
Nigeria Super Eagles continued to look awful in the on-going African Cup of Nations yesterday.n a lackadaisical manner they managed a 2-0 victory against Benin Republic.
But their quarter-final ticket was offered them by Ivory Coast who shut out Mali 3-0 and proved that all the fears about a possible sell-out remained unsubstantiated. Nigeria's destiny was no longer in their hands after they lost to Ivory Coast and drew with Mali. They needed to beat Benin Republic and hoped Ivory Coast beat Mali.
That happened yesterday and the fumbling Eagles wobbled into the quarter-finals where they travel to Accra to play hosts Ghana. It will be a cracker.
Ghana did not look impressive until their last group match against Morocco. They were lucky in the 2-1 opening match with Guinea and remained unconvincing when they faced Namibia even as they won 1-0.
But against Morocco, coach Leroy, now a veteran in African football, having coached Cameroun, Senegal and Congo before moving to Ghana, promised to change tactics and make his team better.
He did and they played aggressively, scoring two goals and creating many chances. That victory has boosted their confidence. That is the team Nigeria will may not be out of place to conclude it is end of the road for them. But in football, you never know. They can pick up and surprise anybody including Ghana.
The victory against Benin has boosted their confidence. After a disappointing first half, Mikel Obi headed in an Osaze Odenwegie cross after Taiye Taiwo hit a terrific free kick and Benin keeper parried it.
Yakubu Aiyegbeni, a champion of catalogue of misses finally got himself on the scorers' chart with a late minute goal that sealed victory for Nigeria and brought back his confidence. It was a victory that made Nigerians wild.
The bench of the Eagles was interesting. Even players like Kanu joined in coaching the team. They did not allow only Berti Vogts to pass instructions to the players on the field. The result was their 2-0 victory.
But Nigeria owe their passage to Ivory Coast who pumped 3 goals past Mali. Vogts described the Drogba-led team as best in the continent and they proved it.
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I do not want to be a Jeremiah and a prophet of doom, but, given the way things look, we should count that quarter finals with the black stars a lost game.
--and, by the way,
Should we not be throwing a party for Mr. Vogts for his excellent coaching that has brough our Eagles to where they are? A referee with a red card should make him a presentation. For the second time around, enough is enough!!!