The Super Eagles on Sunday night lost a
massive opportunity to win a fourth AFCON title in a 2-1 semi-final defeat to
Desert Warriors of Algeria.
The painful defeat was down to the following
main reasons:
· Predictable line-up:
The Super Eagles went to the game without any
element of surprise after the quarter-final victory over South Africa. Gernot
Rohr went to the all-important with the same line-up that defeated the South
Africans. The Algerians read his mind well and had everything figured out on
how to stop the boys. This they did successfully. Had he fielded players such
as Shehu Abdullahi and Samuel Kalu, the Algerians would have been so shocked to
play.
· Low confidence: It was clear the Eagles were
lacking in confidence. Coming after a deserved victory over the South Africans,
one expected the Eagles to take the game to the Algerians. Rather, they sat
back and allowed the Desert Warriors dictate the tempo of the
game. Ekong, Omeruo and goalkeeper Daniel Akpeyi as well as
Chidozie Awaziem obviously could have done better with psychological help. They
ended up making crucial mistakes that affected the game.
· Mahrez magic: The last-second free kick goal by
Riyad Mahrez was simply magical. Only a top class player like him could have
pulled out such a stunt. Clearly, the goal defined his participation in the African
Nations Cup. It is debatable if a Nigerian player could have scored such a goal
had the call gone the opposite way.
Culled from
The Nation
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