Sports
AFCON: On your marks, set…., by Patrick Omorodion
For 29 days beginning from today, all eyes would be focused on Morocco, the new bride of the Confederation of African Football, CAF and Federation of International Football Associations, FIFA, as they host the 30th edition of the African Nations Cup, AFCON.
This competition holds every two years and on even number days until 2013 when South Africa hosted the 2014 edition was moved forward because CAF needed to avoid it clashing with 2014 World Cup which Brazil hosted. This 2025 edition was originally planned to take place during the summer in order to avoid club impact, but the expansion and re-scheduling of the Club World Cup caused it to be pushed back.
It is the second edition Morocco is hosting since it last hosted the tournament in 1988, when Nigeria lost in the final to Cameroon. Since the Super Eagles started participating in the AFCON in 1963, this year is the lowest for their fans both at home and in the Diaspora. They are not enthusiastic about the AFCON like they were before the kick-off of the last edition in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire.
The reason being the fact of their failure to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, painfully the second time in a row after missing out of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the first in the Middle East, to Ghana’s Black Stars on home ground on away goal rule. Fans are angry that little countries like Cape Verde and the Comoros could qualify for the World Cup but the Super Eagles who got a lifeline through the African play-offs in Morocco couldn’t still make it.
Shockingly, most fans who spoke on Brila FM radio on which country they tip for the trophy didn’t mention the Super Eagles among the top three. They claim that the current team, which now has Wilfred Ndidi as the official captain do not inspire any hope. Few however, say they remain patriotic and believe that football is unpredictable as the Super Eagles seem to make more impact when they are written off.
This was the same situation at the last AFCON when the team seemed to struggle under Portuguese coach, Jose Peseiro, with some fans predicting they would not go beyond the group state. They started on a rather slow pace but improved with every game. This attracted the dispirited fans back and support for the Super Eagles grew from game to game until the final match which however, went sour despite scoring first before host, Cote d’Ivoire.
Football is not mathematics however, and fans should not write off the Super Eagles yet. They may turn out to surprise every of the pessimist because as wounded ‘lions’, they may fight as if their life depended on this AFCON. The Nigerian pessimists who spoke on Brila FM tipped three countries as their favourites for the trophy. They are Morocco, Senegal and Egypt. Apart from Senegal who are recent winners (2021), Morocco last won the trophy in 1976 and not even at home while Egypt, the most successful African country in the competition, last won it in 2010 in Angola.
A very good example of how not to write off any team is Denmark. They didn’t qualify for the 1992 European Championship but had a sudden invitation to participate after Yugoslavia’s disqualification due to conflict, giving them little preparation time. Their Coach, Møller Nielsen adopted a defensive 5-3-2 formation and made crucial changes, notably bringing in Henrik Larsen, who scored key goals. In the group stage, they secured qualification by beating France and drawing with the Netherlands, despite initial setbacks against Sweden and England.
As runners-up in their group, they overcame holders the Netherlands in the semi finals on penalties after a 2-2 draw, with goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel saving a crucial penalty from Marco van Basten. In the final against a strong, unified Germany, they delivered a composed, disciplined performance, with John Jensen scoring early and Kim Vilfort adding a second, sealing a historic 2-0 win. This notwithstanding, fans may say the Super Eagles are not Denmark, the same team that disciplined them at the 1998 World Cup in France and ended their World Cup run after the shocking 3-2 over Spain in their opening match.
Currently with the more reliable goalkeeper, Stanley Nwabali not in perfect form over injury, the Super Eagles don’t have a Peter Schmeichel who stood between The Netherlands’ great, Marco van Basten. and goal in 1992. None of the goalkeepers in the team now is as reliable as former goalkeeper and captain, Vincent Enyeama who denied Argentina’s talisman, Lionel Messi a goal in their 2010 World Cup encounter.
One good thing is that Coach Eric Chelle has taken a bold step to include some young players who will be making their debut in the AFCON. With football said to be a sport for the young, these young lads may spring the surprise that may turn things around for the much despised team. If the older players who have AFCON experience could support the more energetic and faster younger ones while Chelle provides the needed tactical and technical input, this set of Super Eagles could just do what the same mixture of players Stephen Keshi took to the 2013 AFCON in South Africa did.
The post AFCON: On your marks, set…., by Patrick Omorodion appeared first on Vanguard News.
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