It is no longer news that football is the single most important thing that unites Nigerians irrespective of tribe and religion. Even as the policies of the Bola Tinubu regime bite harder and make living hellish for the citizens, the people still find temporary relief in football, especially if their national team, the Super Eagles are doing well.
It is as a result of this therefore that those who manage football on behalf of the people must eschew sentiment at all time in selecting who will put on the green and white jersey to represent the country. The buck of who is fit to wear the Super Eagles jersey stops on the desk of whoever is at the head of the technical team, either on a permanent or interim basis. That is why today, I am calling on coach Austin Eguavoen to eschew sentiment or shun pressure from Nigerians to field some irrespective of their form.
He has always had the luck of being recalled to help salvage the Super Eagles. Therefore he should use this opportunity he has now to really stamp his authority and make Nigerians have the confidence that he can return the team to its winning ways. The shambolic display of the Super Eagles in the matchday 5 against the Cheetahs of Benin Republic didn't do any credit to Eguavoen's capability especially coming from the 3-0 defeat of the same team in an earlier qualifier on home soil at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo.
The excuse from some people that the rain on that day affected the Super Eagles is not tenable at all. May Eguavoen's case not be like his Ghanaian counterpart, Otto Addo who is being vilified for failing twice with the Black Stars of Ghana who will be missing from the AFCON party for the first time in 20 years. Since the AFCON started in 1957, 15 countries have won the trophy. Egypt is the most successful with seven wins, followed by Cameroon with five, Ghana with four, Nigeria and Cote d'Ivoire with three each.
Algeria and DR Congo follow with two wins each while Senegal, Congo, South Africa, Morocco, Zambia, Tunisia, Sudan and Ethiopia have recorded one win apiece. The last time Ghana won the trophy was in 1982 in Libya. Ironically they almost missed the competition that year until Muammar Ghadaffi bailed them out. They went on to the final and beat the host in the final. Nigeria's Super Eagles, then known as Green Eagles, were the defending champions, after their first ever win on home soil in 1980 but shockingly crashed out after the first round.
Of all the winners, Egypt top with 10 appearances in the final, losing only on three occasions, Ghana follow with nine finals and four wins, Nigeria with eight finals and three wins while Cote d'Ivoire have five final appearances with three wins. Nigerians are therefore beginning to get worried that with the array of talents the country possesses at home and in the diaspora, it shouldn't be struggling to win the AFCON. That is why Eguavoen or whoever that is eventually hired on a permanent position should consider the form of a player and not necessarily his name before inviting him to the national team.
The argument is that the national team is not a testing ground for players to showcase their talent for scouts from European teams. My colleague on the sports beat who is always blunt on issues concerning the Super Eagles, no matter whose ox is gored, Desmond Ekwueme expressed his opinion on social media after the drab encounter against Gernot Rohr's Cheetahs last Thursday in Abidjan. He is of the opinion that most of the players being invited into the Super Eagles shouldn't be there. He listed only six players that should command permanent shirts and with reasons.
Expectedly, reigning African Footballer of the Year, Victor Osimhen topped his list. Again, but for Osimhen, the Super Eagles could have lost Thursday's encounter, to make it twice to Benin Republic in one year. That goal took Osimhen's account with the national team to 23, equalling Segun Odegbami as the second all time top scorers, behind legendary Rashidi Yekini who still leads with 37 goals. The other five players Ekwueme argued deserve permanent shirts are Ademola Lookman, goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali, Ola Aina, captain Williams Troost-Ekong and Wilfred Ndidi.
Of these lot, two of them, Aina and Ndidi didn't bring out their best though, especially Aina who was later substituted following an injury. Nwabali let in a cheeky goal from a header but it was later disclosed that he was bereaved having lost his dad hours before that encounter. Ndidi's role as a natural defensive midfielder who pairs with a not too skilfull and creative Alex Iwobi, leaves too much gap in that department for opponents to exploit at the detriment of the team. A weak midfield not feeding the attack properly makes Osimhen overwork himself by falling back most times to retrieve balls.
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Yekini was a beneficiary of an effective midfield marshalled by Oliseh who sends him tailor-measured passes upfront to do damages I remember one of those his passes at the 1994 AFCON in Tunisia which Yekini controlled with his chest before powering a shot for a goal. Yekini ran to Oliseh and patted him on the head. He later described him in an interview as "omo da da", good boy. So as we look ahead to the remaining 2026 World Cup qualifiers, Eguavoen should listen to Ekwueme that "The technical crew of the team led by (him) should stop being sentimental in picking starting 11 for games. Players should be picked for matches on the basis of their forms and fitness and not by virtue of the clubs they play (for) or their clout due to media hy
