AFCON
Super Eagles on a five-match no-win run…1st time in 59 years
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
Nigeria’s national football team, the Super Eagles are now on their fifth match without a win since beating Guinea Bissau 2-0 on 19 January in Garoua, Cameroon.
Early this Friday morning in New Jersey US, they were beaten 1-0 by Ecuador in what is also the new coach’s second match on the saddle.
The last time the team had gone on a long streak without a win was in 1963 when they played five consecutive matches without winning any.
At the time, they lost 6-3 to Egypt and 4-0 to Sudan at the Africa Cup of Nations in Kumasi, Ghana and followed up with another 4-1 loss Morocco in Casablanca bringing their aggregate score line in the 1964 Olympic Games qualifier to 4-4.
In the tie-breaker match, the fifth consecutive game since losing to Egypt in Kumasi, Nigeria lost 2-1 in Dakar, Senegal.
The current streak began with a 1-0 loss to Tunisia in the round of 16 of the Africa Cup of Nations in Garoua. They followed up with two drawn matches with Ghana in the World Cup qualifying play off before the last two friendly matches lost to Mexico and Ecuador.
Their next match will be a home game against Sierra Leone, the team that recorded the biggest come-back episode in matches involving the Nigerian team.
When they came back from a 4-0 deficit to draw 4-4 with the Super Eagles in Benin City on 13 November 2020, it turned to be the highest number of goals Nigeria ever conceded at home since losing 6-2 to Egypt on 13 November 1959 in a Rome 1960 Olympic Games qualifier.
According to Libyan sources, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) will announce its final decision on the botched Libya-Nigeria Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match.
The two parties had until Sunday, October 19th, to submit their sides of the case. But as Libya Al-Ahrar Channel puts it, not just the failed match at Benina Stadium is being investigated.
The publication has it that the Libyan Football Federation (LFF) may have asked that the first-leg match that Libya lost should be included in the investigation.
According to Libya Al-Ahrar Channel, investigations “will include the events that accompanied the first and second leg matches between the national team and Nigeria in the qualifiers for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.”
The Libyan Federation submitted all the documents it collected with a specialized lawyer assigned by the Libyan Federation to supervise the Libyan file with the Confederation of African Football.
AFCON
Prominent Libyan football official calls for tough sanction on those responsible for Super Eagles’ maltreatment
A prominent Libyan football official, Al-Siddiq Abu Hadima,has called for tough sanctions on the Libyan Football Federation officials responsible for the crisis that engulfed the suspended Libya-Nigeria Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match.
Hadima, a former president of the Al-Dhahra Club, asked for the dismissal and prosecution of those responsible for the crisis.
In a publication in Libya’s outlet. Al-Wasat, Hadima recommended that if such people failed to submit a report that will exonerate them when the Sunday 20 October deadline issued by CAF lapses, “then they must be prosecuted and permanently dismissed.”
Al-Wasat got Hadima’s comments from his post on Facebook and remarked that “this negligence – if it happened – constitutes a betrayal of trust and a lack of awareness of the gravity of responsibility.”
It will be recalled that the Nigerian delegation to the botched match was held up for close to 20 hours at an abandoned Labraq Airport where their aircraft already on descent was dangerously diverted to.
The Nigerians were left without food and water for nearly 20 hours. CAF has already strongly condemned the actions of the Libyans.
As an investigation into the botched Libya-Nigeria Africa Cup of Nations match, the Libyan FA secretary, Nasser Al-Suwaie has raised queries on the integrity of the personnel of the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
In a report published in the online version of Libyaalahrar.tv, Al-Suwaie remarked that there may be collusion from some parties within CAF, but the position of the Libyan Federation is strong.
He added that the Libyan Federation did not change the course of the plane’s landing to Al-Abraq Airport, and the reason for changing the plane’s landing to Al-Abraq was a decision by the Libyan state, and that the sovereignty of the Libyan state must be respected by everyone.
He however was silent on why the team was held hostage at the Al Abraq Airport and why the Libyan FA did not provide any logistic support to the Nigerian team that was held up at the airport for more than 16 hours without food and water.
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