Repentant Super Eagles soaring so high

Yesterday was another fruitful day in the office for the Super Eagles as they recorded an emphatic 3-1 victory over the Falcons of Sudan to ease into the Round of 16 at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Cameroon. It was indeed a sweet victory that saw Samuel Chukuweze, Taiwo Awoniyi and skilful Moses Simon scoring a goal each to ensure Nigerians don’t use calculators so early in the tournament.

However, the victory wasn’t a stroll in the park for the Super Eagles as their opponents fought so hard to ensure they didn’t suffer a crushing defeat in the hands of their more experienced opponents. After the early setback, many thought the Falcons would sit back in fear but that was not the case because they also know that the best form of defence is to attack.

So as much as the Super Eagles mounted pressure on their defence line in search of more goals, the Sudanese kept pouring forward to seek revenge. Unfortunately for them, it was their more endowed opponents who continued to score the goals.

Expectedly Nigerians are on cloud nine following the impressive showings by their players in Cameroon. Everything about the team points to the fact that the Super Eagles have turned a new leaf. Even their unrepentant critics have seen the improvement and are willing to sing different tunes.

I won’t be surprised, if I will be bombarded with calls to remind me of how before the commencement of the championship, I had written off the Super Eagles. Yes, I was very critical of the team because the players deliberately set out to give Nigerians heart attacks. As if they were paid to take football crazy Nigerians to their early graves, the Super Eagles of Gernot Rohr broke many hearts with lethargic performances even against minnows. Yes, minnows because there are still learners in football.

For those who think some of us bear personal grudges with the players, nobody wants to see talented players playing like mediocre. Even before their dominant displays so far in Cameroon, many of us knew the stuff these players are made of. It was, therefore, annoying to see them putting up shambolic displays when they were expected to produce results that are capable of healing our souls. After all, football, like religion, is said to be an opium of the masses.

Now, those who want to taunt me because of Super Eagles recent victories should know that all I did in my most recent articles was to challenge the players to wake up from slumber. I was not alone in criticising the team. Many other Nigerians saw the looming danger and alerted those in charge of the team. It is those honest criticisms that compelled the players to repent of their unpatriotic deeds.

Instead of jeer at those who made ‘scathing and uncomplimentary’ remarks about the Super Eagles, let us all savour the victories so far recorded by the ‘born again’ players. With their impressive performances, they have undoubtedly placed themselves among the strong contenders for the title. This is thanks to the former captain of the team, Coach Austin Eguaveon, who is competently steering the ship in interim capacity. In no time, he is succeeding with the same players Rohr failed to put to good use.

Surely, if the Franco-German hadn’t been given the boot by the NFF, maybe players like Moses Simon, Taiwo Awoniyi, Kelechi Nwakali and Sadiq Umar wouldn’t have come close to the team. But today, they are among our joy-givers.

However, as we celebrate the turnaround in the fortunes of the Super Eagles, we must not forget that there are still many rivers to cross. After back to back victories, the Super Eagles are favoured to remain in Garoua to prosecute the knockout stage as Group D winners.

It is in the Round of 16 that the real battles will begin. This is not to say the group matches came easy but truth be told, Sudan and Guinea Bissau are not in the same class with Senegal, Morocco, Algeria, Guinea, Cameroon or Egypt. The Eagles must brace up for tougher matches.

Therefore, even as I have seen signs of another miracle in the mould of the one that happened in 2013 in South Africa, I am not going to discard the cautious optimism that I have continued to preach with the zeal of a new convert.

If even the coach of the Super Eagles is still saying his team is work in progress, who am I to feel differently? Despite their fine run, there are still noticeable lapses in the defensive line of the team. The backline must be more compact to ward off predators like Sadio Mane, Vincent Aboubakar and Riyad Mahrez.

Furthermore, some of the players are being exuberant in their play as they still prefer individual glory to team victory. Many are guilty of showboating and deliberately refusing to pass the ball to their team mates who are most times in better goal scoring positions. It is an open secret that those who indulge in such selfish acts inadvertently invite dangerous tackles to themselves. This has to stop because there are many more battles ahead.