BY ERNEST OSOGBUE

These are not fun times for the Super Eagles of Nigeria, and by extension, it is equally not a very happy time for the vast majority of its supporters. Over the years, the Nigerian national football team, the Super Eagles has become saddled with the extra burden of being the bright spot in the mostly gloomy life of the average citizen. It follows therefore, that when the fortunes of the team dip, it has a direct impact, albeit negatively, on the mental, social and psychological wellbeing of Nigerians.

In recent times there has been very little to cheer for in the performances of the Super Eagles. The team failed at the last qualifying hurdle to the 2022 World Cup, in just a matter of weeks after breaking Nigerian hearts by crashing out in the second round of the Africa Cup of Nations. Here we are again in another World Cup qualifying series, and the Super Eagles have posted two disappointing draws thereby sending panic bells ringing in the hearts of supporters.

For many Nigerians, the Super Eagles is an extension of their lives, it is their darling team, and it is owned by them. These supporters are prepared to sink and swim with the team no matter the situation. For Nigerians generally however, the Super Eagles is the only brand with credibility, it is the only brand that is not tainted with tribalism, nepotism, politics, religious bigotry, ethnicity, favoritism, or federal character aka Quota System.

Where tribe, religion and the region where a citizen is from usually determine who gets what, when and how in Nigeria, such considerations have no place in the Super Eagles. Invitation to the team, and who becomes the captain are strictly by excellence, and not subject to debate or the Federal Character principle. No brand and nothing else have brought Nigerians together Like the Super Eagles. In the Super Eagles of Nigeria rests the national unity, love, joy, celebration, happiness and oneness which all Nigerians crave. It has been said that when the Eagles play, especially when representing Nigeria in major international championships, a positive spirit engulfs the entire nation; as religious differences are forgotten, political affiliations are discarded, ethnicity and tribalism are dumped in the waste bin, as people forgive their neighbors, with love and joy spreading through the nooks and crevices, as Nigerians jubilate in oneness.

Their first triumph on home soil in the Africa Cup of Nations in 1980, lent legendary status to all the members of that team; Christian Chukwu, Segun Odegbami, Felix Owolabi, Alloysius Atuegbu and others. The Clemens Westerhof tutored Super Eagles then took this a notch further, by not only claiming the African title in 1994, but capped it off with a first time qualification for the FIFA World Cup, where the team dazzled and mesmerized the world with the Nigerian brand of football. Despite crashing out to the Azzuri’s of Italy due to naivety in the second round, the team went on to be rated as the second most entertaining team of the championship behind Brazil. That feat catapulted the Super Eagles to being ranked the fifth best team in the world, a feat no other African country has replicated to date. 

Two years after the above achievement, the Nigerian national team was to outdo itself, when Westerhof’s successor, and his erstwhile assistant Jo Bonfrere, led the national U-23 team to win gold at the Olympic Games in Atlanta. Nothing has happened in Nigerian football so far to replicate this global triumph, not just in the victory itself, but the manner of it. The victory of Nigeria over Brazil in the semi-final remains a watershed moment in the annals of Nigerian football history. Parading some of her best ever players in the likes of Ronaldo, Romario, Bebeto, Roberto Carlos, Dida and many others, and managed by the legendary Mario Zagallo, the almighty Brazil was made to bite the dust from a 3-1 advantage by outsiders Nigeria. 

The celebrations that greeted the 4-3 golden goal victory over Brazil in the semifinal overshadowed the 2-1 win over Argentina in the final, almost rendering it an anticlimax. Suffice it to say that Nwankwo Kanu, Austin JJ Okocha, Victor Ikpeba, Daniel Amokachi, Emmanuel Amuneke and the rest of the team are still celebrated to this day. It was to be another 17 years before Nigeria was to experience such success again, albeit at the continental level, when Stephen Keshi led an unlikely team to triumph at the Africa Cup of Nations in 2013. Mikel Obi, Joseph Yobo, Vincent Enyeama and others who were members of that team still remain special in Nigerian hearts.

Since that 2013 triumph however, it has been one story of woe or the other for the Super Eagles, so much so that Nigerians are beginning to wonder whether the politics and challenges of the larger Nigerian society has crept into their darling national team.

In the last two major competitions, the Super Eagles have flattered to deceive; this is not including their various fumbles in friendly internationals. At the last Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroun, former Super Eagles captain Austin Eguavoen was drafted to manage the team, following the unceremonious sacking of Gernot Rohr. Before the sacking, Nigerians had complained about the lack of verve in Rohr’s team. Despite some flurries here and there, there was a lack of fire in the Eagles play, as they failed to spark and galvanize their fan base. This ultimately led to an acrimonious parting of ways between Rohr and his employers before the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations.

Nigerians had their hearts in their mouths in trepidation before the opening games of the competition, where the Super Eagles were up against the all-conquering Egyptian national team, the record winners of the championship, and who had Mohammed Salah, arguably the best African player at the time in their line-up. But for the first time in many years, Nigerians were pleasantly surprised by the display of the Super Eagles, as they blunted the Egyptian attack and displayed a brand of football reminiscent of the glory days. The 1- 0 victory over Egypt was the stuff of legends, and Nigerians celebrated that triumph like a thirteenth month salary.

Not surprisingly, the team carried that momentum for the remainder of the group games; defeating Sudan 3-1, and Guinea Bissau 2-0, to end the group stage with a 100% record, the only team at the championship to do so.

In the second round, the Super Eagles were drawn against the Carthage Eagles of Tunisia, who only managed to scrape through on goals scored, after losing 0-1 to Mali, beating Mauritania 4-0, before falling 0-1 to Gambia in their final group game. For the average Super Eagles supporter based on their group performances, the Carthage Eagles were no match for the Nigerian team.  

Come match day however, and a long range drive by the Tunisian captain Youssef Msakni in the 47th minute was all the Tunisians needed to beat the Super Eagles 1-0, and advance to the quarter finals. To say Nigerians were shocked was to put it mildly, there was utter disbelief across the nation, as all the superlatives used in describing the performance of the Super Eagles up until that match dried up. Austin Eguavoen who had been elevated to the status of a Messiah was quickly brought down to earth, as recriminations and abuse replaced the encomiums with which he had previously been showered.

When the dust settled however, and football analysts began to dissect the game, most of them fingered Maduka Okoye the Super Eagles goalie for not doing enough to stop Msakni’s shot. This led the team’s minders to drop the young goalkeeper, and in turn recall the much vilified Francis Uzoho, for the final round of qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup against the Black Stars of Ghana. 

Following the AFCON fiasco and the clamor by Nigerians for a change, the NFF appointed former Super Eagles winger Emmanuel Amuneke, a popular figure at the time, and 2023 AFCON winning captain Joseph Yobo, as well as Alloy Agu to support Eguavoen in the two-legged qualifier against Ghana. This move seemed to work initially, as the Eagles came away with a goalless draw in the first leg in Ghana. Once again, the hope of their supporters was raised, in the belief that having secured a crucial away draw in Ghana, nothing could stop the Black Stars from falling on Nigerian soil.

Alas, another disappointment awaited Nigerians, as another long range strike in the 10th minute by Ghana captain Thomas Partey gave the Ghanaians the lead. A William Troost-Ekong penalty in the 22nd minute restored parity, but try as they might, the Super Eagles could not find the winning goal. By CAF rules an away goal is a tiebreaker, and so the Super Eagles were denied another World Cup appearance on the away goal.

Nothing and I mean absolutely nothing could describe the disappointment of Nigerians over this failure. Some of the fans at the stadium took their frustrations out on anything nearby, leading to pandemonium and mayhem which spread beyond the match venue, prompting FIFA to impose a hefty fine against Nigeria in its aftermath. After a long drawn out analysis however, football pundits again came to the conclusion that the Super Eagles goalkeeper Francis Uzho was responsible for Nigeria’s elimination, having failed to keep out Thomas Partey’s shot.

As a result of that analysis, it has become an open secret that the Super Eagles of Nigeria do not have a shot stopper in the mold of their legendary predecessors like Emmanuel Okalla, Best Ogedengbe, Peter Rufai, and Vincent Enyeama amongst others. This has led to a lot of vitriol been thrown at the Super Eagles in general, but particularly at Maduka Okoye and Francis Uzoho, the two goalkeepers at the center of these infamous defeats. 

While everyone understands that football is an emotional game and therefore it is excusable for supporters to be disappointed at a defeat, it must equally be noted that performing to the level of being invited to represent one’s country is no small achievement. It must be noted that Maduka Okoye and Francis Uzoho are both young goalkeepers with their best years still ahead, crucifying them and picking them out for selective punishment and harassment for the Super Eagles failures is therefore unacceptable. 

Without denying the importance of the Super Eagles to the sociopolitical wellbeing of our country, it is important for football fans and analysts to understand that footballers make a lot of sacrifices in representing their nations. It may look easy on the outside, but these players undergo a lot of pressure from both internal and external forces, having to also deal with the venom and vitriol of supporters is an added pressure which the players could be spared. A team wins and loses together, singling out players for extra punishment and scrutiny over a team’s failure is absolutely unfair, and should not be condoned.

Picking on the goalkeepers has led many to overlook the overall paucity of talent in crucial positions in the team, as well as the lack of tactical depth and nous by the technical crew. Let’s agree for a moment that Okoye and Uzoho were at fault for those goals, were they also responsible for the strikers not scoring? This is the bigger issue, how come the Super Eagles no longer outscore their opponents? This is the question that should be agitating our minds. In the 2026 World Cup qualifiers so far against Lesotho and Zimbabwe, the team has recorded 1-1 draws, with the goalkeepers bearing the brunt of attacks as usual, and no one is talking about the manager’s tactical approach or the strikers who failed to score.

Recently I read a report where Vincent Enyeama one of our most accomplished and decorated goalkeepers was lamenting his exit from the national team, Ahmed Musa the substantive captain of the team, was also quoted in the media recently complaining of the undue pressure being put on him to quit the team. In the same vein, Mikel Obi had once voiced his unhappiness at how his exit from the national team was handled, ditto for Joseph Yobo and many others.

Before now, there was a tradition of grooming in the national team, where players nearing retirement had to indoctrinate, educate and ensure that incoming players imbibed the traditions, nuances as well as the spirit of the team. This helped the team to maintain a balance and style of play which endeared it to Nigerians. It was possible then for supporters to name the entire line up before a crucial game. Today however, players come in and go out of the national team like a tailor’s sewing needle. In all fairness, Nigerians can no longer recognize their national team.

Targeting the players and blaming them for poor performances is absolutely wrong and indeed a distraction. The players were invited, and have made themselves available to represent their country, what is missing is the ability of management to knit the team into a squad that can represent and conquer on behalf of the nation. 

It is therefore my opinion that those who make the decisions as to which players to invite, which players to retire or force out of the team, those who decide which coach to hire or fire, and those responsible for tactical and technical decisions in a game, are responsible for the performances of the Super Eagles. Nigerians should therefore learn to hold the Nigeria Football Federation and the coach they employed responsible when the Super Eagles perform poorly. They should kindly leave the players alone.