By

 

Eniola Olatunji 

 

The Group D AFCON qualifiers may enter into formality mode on Tuesday when the teams’ line up to play the 4th day schedule matches.

 

Nigeria plays Libya on the 2nd leg on Tuesday at 8pm Nigerian Time at Matyrs of February Stadium, Benina, Benghazi Libya same day Rwanda will host Benin Republic at the Amahoro Stadium, Kigali at 5pm Nigerian Time.

 

Currently Nigeria ranked 39 by FIFA heads the group with 7 points scoring 4 goals and conceding zero goal followed by Benin Republic ranked 89 with 6 points scoring 5 goals and conceding 4; Rwanda ranked 130 is 3rd with 2 points scoring one goal and conceding 4 while Libya ranked 121 is at the bottom with one point scoring 2 goals and conceding 4.

 

My crystal ball shows if Nigeria and Benin win their next matches on Day 4 which is supposed to be away matches, Nigeria would have acquired 10 points followed by Benin with 9 points, Rwanda will remain at 2 points and Libya will wallow in a stagnant sea with 1 point and with two games to end the qualifier, it will be goodbye to Morocco 2025 for Rwanda and Libya.

 

In a case that both Rwanda and Libya succeed to secure drawn games, Nigeria will have 8 points, Benin 7 points, Rwanda 3 points and Libya 2 points. Here, Libya is gone and Rwanda will hope for miracles against Nigeria and Libya to qualify as 2nd best which will be utopian. 

 

Currently Nigeria is said to be 98.4% qualified for the grand finale in Morocco while Benin is 75.2% qualified so what will bring them down?

 

Nigeria is one of the 16 teams of the 48 on parade that is yet to lose a match from the three games played so far. Others are Comoros from group A; Morocco from group B; Egypt from group C Algeria from group E; Angola from group F; Ivory Coast from group G; Democratic Republic of Congo from group H; both Mali and Mozambique from group I; Cameroon and Zimbabwe from group J; Uganda and South Africa from group K while Burkina Faso and Senegal are from group L.

 

Only four teams have clean slate 9not conceded a single goal so far). They are Egypt heading Group C with 9 points scoring 9 goals and zero concession; Nigeria heading group D with 7 points scoring 4 goals and zero concession; DR Congo from group H with 9 points scoring 4 goals and zero concession as well as Zimbabwe that is 2nd in group J after Cameroon that has 5 points scored one goal and conceded none.

 

One common factor in group D is that all the teams except Nigeria conceded 4 goals each as at the end of the three matches played so far.. 

 

So Libya that has made 3 appearances at AFCON finals with being runners-up in 1982 when she hosted will not be picked for final draws. The WAPS of Rwanda went to the final party only once and fell at group stage. The Cheetahs of Benin has been there 4 times with a quarterfinal in 2019. Nigeria has customized herself with every final as she has appeared 20 times and won the title thrice.

 

To scale the hurdle and pop up wine on Tuesday may be difficult and the Nigerian Captain Williams Troost-Ekong admitted that.

 

Said he: “We have made up our minds what to expect, the game will be difficult, the crowd will be difficult, the game will be hostile. We will learn from our mistakes. We will need to be more clinical and take our chances”.

 

This reporter can assure you it will be a typical way North African countries play on their home ground especially in vital 2nd leg matches, no time wasting tactics but severally falling down and running to the Ref for penalty kicks; there will be general and funny appeal for both yellow and red cards from players, bench and crowd.  When they score, there will be a thunderous ALLAH Akbar with the head to the turf. The noise will be deafening.

 

There may be tearing of jersey of the Eagles from strong pulling and pretending they were the ones victimized so Ademola Lookman and Victor Boniface will have a hell of time. Dribblers may get injured Nigeria needs the tiki-taka style of play. Augustine Eguavoen says Boniface plays like Romario dressing the ball instead of shooting, nobody has observed that Boniface is like a bull difficult to pull down. He and Lookman may earn Nigeria a penalty kick. The Libyans will be desperate.

 

The Super Eagles will need the Nigerian Embassy for their meals because there will be logistic battles to be fought. They need the experiences of people like Segun Odegabami and Emmanuel Okala who experienced hostilities when Nigeria was to play Ghana at Ghana 78 Cup of Nations. Even Earnest Okonkwo and Tolu Fatoyinbo both late now who were there to run radio commentaries for Nigeria had their fair share of hostilities. The NFF should secure adequate security for the players if they win for stones will rent the air.

Tuesday 15th October 2024 is before Nigeria. 

 

On the 16th August 2005 Libya lost a friendly match 0-1 in Tripoli; lost a CHAN match 0-1 to Nigeria on 19th January 2018; got bashed 4-0 by Nigeria on 12th October 2018 and on 16th October 2018lost to Nigeria at home 2-3 both last two matches of the AFCON qualifiers like this. Nigeria only on Friday 11th October beat Libya by a lone goal

 

So you can see the panic from the Libyan Football Federation to have dragged the Super Eagles to the Sea side of the Mediterranean for the second leg on Tuesday 15th October and at Rwanda at home on 4th September both in the AFCON Qualifiers; she lost her world cup qualifier match against Cape Verde on 11th June by a lone goal on 11th June after winning 2-1 over Mauritius in Libya also in WCQ but she played 1-1 with Togo on 26th March and defeated Burkina Faso at home on 22nd March.

 

Nigeria had drawn 0-0 with Rwanda away on 10th September after a sweet 3-0 revenge over Benin Republic on 7th September both in AFCONQ; Nigeria lost to Benin Republic in Abidjan 2-1 in the WCQ on 10th June and played 1-1 with South Africa at Uyo on 7th June also in WCQ but lost to Mali 0-2 on 26th March and beat Ghana 2-1 both in friendly matches.