Nigeria at the World Cup
The much-anticipated FIFA World Cup 2014 began last week. And for the next few weeks, Brazil will be at the centre as host of this global tournament, where Nigeria will enter an appearance tonight with Super Eagles pitted against Asia powerhouse, Iran, in Curitiba. The gathering of the best 32 football teams in the world commenced on June 12 and, ends on July 13 with the championship game that will determine the world’s best for the next four years.
Africa’s World Cup hopes are being carried in the Latin American sun by the national teams of five countries – Nigeria, Algeria, Cameroon, Ghana and Ivory Coast. In the class of 2014, only Cameroon and Ghana had made it to the quarterfinals before.
African champions, Nigeria, will be making their fifth appearance at the global stage, presenting another opportunity to improve on their performance. Having made it to the second round twice in the past, the Super Eagles would need to soar some more.
The Stephen Keshi-tutored Eagles arrived in Brazil off from an unimpressive build-up, drawing with Mexico, Italy, Scotland and Greece, and losing to the United States in warm-up games.
Along with Iran, the Super Eagles will also play Bosnia and Argentina in the group stage of the tournament, and are aiming to make the second round for the first time since 1998.
In spite of the optimism generated by the Super Eagles in their position as continental champions, they are shorthanded in terms of playing personnel. Most of the players did not feature in top European clubs in the outgoing season.
Lack of a comprehensive pre-tournament programme and an enduring deficit in key areas on the pitch suggest that the Eagles may struggle to surpass the second round status they attained on their debut in USA ’94 before losing to Italy, and in France ’98, when Denmark trounced them, 4-1.
Although Coach Keshi is sanguine about the team’s chances, his confidence is tempered by a near-chaotic preparation and the return of the usual altercation over bonuses. This saw the Eagles making a rehash of last year’s FIFA Confederations Cup, as the players refused to board a flight to Brazil for the tournament over bonus row. In Sao Paulo, fresh reports suggest that the players had threatened to boycott tonight’s first game against Iran if they were not handed a share of the 8 million dollar disbursement from FIFA for each World Cup finalist.
However, Sports Minister Dr Tammy Danagogo intervened to prevent a potential disaster in the Eagles’ camp, even though the Nigeria Football Federation made efforts to pre-empt any trouble by drawing up a code of conduct that explicitly forbids such antics.
The Super Eagles are on a national mission to put Nigeria back where it belongs as one of the top nations in world football; squabbles over perquisites should not derail it.
The Eagles’ last victory at the World Cup dates back to 16 years ago, when Nigeria beat Bulgaria 1-0 to top the group in France 1998. A victory tonight against Iran could just be the momentum Nigeria desperately needs to be en route to glory.
To be on that track, the Super Eagles should take some measures, including ensuring that they play with a very compact game plan, especially when not in possession. They also need to be united and play as a team. Players should smother their personal egos, and defer to team spirit. If they play at their best, as they did on that memorable day when they took apart the multi-talented Ivory Coast’s team in South Africa in 2013, the Cup itself could be within their grasp this year.