The more the Nigeria vs Sao Tome and Principe dead rubber Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying game draws closer, the more it is difficult not to see how the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has wasted a window of opportunity to make the national team more competitive.
The Super Eagles face unarguably the worst team among all African countries in the entire qualification series for the 2023 AFCON (to be played in January 2024 now) and it has invited twenty-two (22) players from Europe for an assignment that could have been made worthier.
No matter how anyone wants to view or sugarcoat the importance of this game, Nigeria vs Sao Tome is a dead rubber game in word and indeed. Like a vulcanizer at Ojota Bus Stop would package his product and service on LinkedIn, it is right that some of the invited players have attempted to talk up the game.
It is no fault of the players though as it is an ample opportunity to “pad stats” as it is said in social media circles and give more life to their international reputation but will performances against Sao Tome count on the long run? I think not.
The arrival pictures of the visiting team at the Obong Victor Attah International Airport, Uyo on Thursday was a subject of comic relief among Nigerian fans but it could really be a reflection of the kind of opposition the Nigerian team will face on Sunday. How then did the NFF succeed in bringing 22 players – most of them already established in the national team – for this game which could be won by a well prepared Ikukuoma FC of Uboma?
The first school of thought is that Nigeria vs Sao Tome gives Jose Peseiro a chance to have his players together given that more crucial assignments are around the corner. Why that is quite plausible on face value, the substance behind such reasoning is lost on the Nigerian Federation and the coaching crew.
By the next time the team converges, players like captain Ahmed Musa, Alex Iwobi, Zaidu Sanusi et al will make a mandatory return to this side meaning that the experiment of inviting some players in their position is lost. Why not then narrow down the invitation to singular fringe players per position coming from Europe and use the rest to begin preparation for the CHAN qualifiers too since Peseiro has accepted to take charge of the team?
The NFF is famous for always being cash-strapped with a number of alleged debts to players and coaches but the same Federation has decided to incur flight tickets and statutory match winning bonuses on a dead rubber game to many of the players they’re indebted to.
The most important way the NFF could have justified inviting this number of players would have been organising a friendly match during this window – since it is a two-match window – perhaps against a fellow West African country since Nigeria’s competitive opponents in the next twelve months will be African sides.
Perhaps, the NFF is too broke to call Ghana or even Mali to Uyo while even asking their opponents to take charge of their logistics. The Federation has simply extended its way of failing to prepare the underaged national teams to the main team because of its eternal paucity of funds.
There is another two-match international window for friendly matches in October and that could have been another perfect opportunity to bond the team in the immediate sense considering they start World Cup qualifying action in November but while some African countries have already lined up games for October, there is no plan on that yet by the NFF.
Playing against Sao Tome alone, a team that brought just fifteen players to Nigeria with the squad called up by Peseiro is a mockery of the lack of funds and for a match where only seventeen players can be featured, question is: why spend on the remaining five Europe based? Will Peseiro still invite them based on the three training sessions?
As an example, let’s imagine Victor Boniface and Gift Orban get the nod to start upfront against the Sao Tome tourists ahead of Victor Osimhen and Taiwo Awoniyi and the two first timers score a hattrick apiece (it’s not beneath them), have they done enough to start ahead of Osimhen in the World Cup qualifiers two months from now? But imagine having a chance to have them play another game in three or four days?
Many have also cited European examples where they invite their top players irrespective of which opposition they face but it is often forgotten that these countries have a well documented pattern of calling up players according to present form, and France will not call up 23 to face ONLY Gibraltar, there has to be two matches at least.
One of the features that have made Super Eagles underachieve over the past few years is the invitation of players regardless of their club form, giving them the notion that the National Team is their home. The squad against Sao Tome is still littered with players struggling for minutes and form across first and second division teams in Europe and we think we are positioning the team for African conquest?
The jury is out on the (not so) new NFF board and the AFCON winning proclamation of Jose Peseiro but it must be well noted that both parties have just wasted a window of opportunity to test new players and make old ones sit up.
This article was plagiarised. Huge chunks of it were written by Vanguard’s Jacob Ajom. Why being lazy about writing an original piece of work? This is shameful
You must be very stupid for this wild accusation. Bring Jacob Ajom outside to come and spew this nonsense where I am. Go and search Fisayo Dairo on Google and look at the articles I have put up. Why can’t Nigerians respect themselves for once?