Some football fans have described Super Eagles performance in their one all draw against Equatorial Guinea at the 2023 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) as below par.
The second group A game played at the Alhassan Outtara Stadium in Abidjan on Sunday, saw Equatorial Guinea took the lead in the 36th minute of play after Ivan Salvador curled shot into the far corner of the Eagles net.
The three-time African champions replied two minutes later with Victor Osimhen’s powerful header connecting from Ademola Lookman’s cross to draw level.
Efforts from the Nigerian side to snatch the maximum three points was futile as they lost numerous opportunities to convert goals.
Some fans, who watched the game at a viewing centre in Aco Estate, Abuja expressed their disappointment with Eagles performance.
Musa Mohammed, a non-league side football player, said he had expected the game to be an easy win for the country, following the disparity in FIFA rankings between both sides.
“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 Eagles.
“The team fumbled with the ball. They were not clinical in front of goal, missed lots of chances especially that Osimhen’s lost opportunity in second half.
“It was an abysmal show and I hope they regroup better ahead of their other group games,” Mohammed said.
Prince Bonachristus, a Physical Health Education teacher, said the defence was not encouraging.
“The defence was frail. They couldn’t clear up their lines. The attacking department also didn’t live up to expectations.
“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 Côte d’Ivoire,” he said.
Jessica Mmuo, a student and football enthusiast said: “One point is not good enough when playing a team like Nzalang Nacional. We are way above them in football.
“I hope they go back to the drawing board and quickly correct their errors in this first game, else we should forget about winning this edition of AFCON”.
Nigeria will play hosts Cote d’Ivoire on Thursday before facing Guinea Bissau on January 22.
Football Fans in Enugu State also expressed disappointment with the performance of the Super Eagles.
Some of the fans described the performance of the team as unconvincing.
The fans also blamed the current African Footballer of the year, Victor Osimhen for the 1-1 draw against lowly rated Equatorial Guinea after he missed several opportunities to score.
Victor Ozoigbo, a fan of the Nigerian team, said the team’s performance was far from convincing and lacked commitment.
“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.
Also speaking, Chinedu Eze, said he was far from impressed by the team’s display against Equatorial Guinea.
“This is the worst team we have produced for nation’s cup. So, to me they are not going anywhere,” he said.
However, a female fan, Ngozi Udegbunam, said she was not discouraged by the result of the game, hoping that the team will learn from their mistakes and bounce back.
“It is just the first game and they should not be judged by just the first game.
“In a tournament, teams improve with matches. So, I am convinced that the team will improve with more matches,” she said.
Udegbunam urged the team’s handlers to go back to the drawing board to identify the mistakes and correct them before the next match.
