AFCON
Nigeria aim to deny hosts Cote d’Ivoire in AFCON final –
Victor Osimhen’s Nigeria stand in the way of Cote d’Ivoire in Sunday’s Africa Cup of Nations final, as the tournament hosts aim to complete the most remarkable of turnarounds by lifting the trophy.
The most thrilling AFCON in recent memory concludes at the Ebimpe Olympic Stadium, on the dusty outskirts of Abidjan, with a heavyweight showdown between two West African footballing powerhouses.
Eleven years after they were last crowned continental champions, Nigeria are hoping to win their fourth title, and in doing so match the tally of old rivals Ghana.
Cote d’Ivoire, meanwhile, will join the Super Eagles on three titles if they become the first host nation to lift the trophy since Egypt beat them on penalties in 2006.
Their journey just to get to this stage has been unlike almost anything that has come before in the history of major international tournament football.
After beating Guinea-Bissau 2-0 in the opening game on January 13, things began to go awry when they lost 1-0 to Nigeria in a close-fought encounter five days later.
The Elephants then found themselves on the brink of becoming just the second Cup of Nations hosts in the last 30 years to be eliminated in the group stage after a humiliating 4-0 loss to Equatorial Guinea.
It was their heaviest ever home defeat, and it cost veteran French coach Jean-Louis Gasset his job.
Yet a combination of favourable results elsewhere allowed them to squeeze through to the last 16 as the last of the four best third-placed teams.
– ‘Like a dream’ –
Former player Emerse Fae became interim coach after an audacious attempt to hire Herve Renard on a short-term deal failed, and Cote d’Ivoire ousted holders Senegal on penalties in his first game.
A crazy quarter-final followed, with the 10-man Ivorians beating Mali 2-1 thanks to a winning goal in added time in extra time.
In his first start of the tournament after injury, Sebastien Haller then scored the only goal in a 1-0 defeat of the Democratic Republic of Congo in the last four, taking Ivory Coast into their first final since they won the trophy under Renard in 2015.
“It’s like a dream, when you go back two weeks to the defeat here against Equatorial Guinea,” said Fae after the semi-final.
“It was hard then to imagine that we might qualify for the final of our own AFCON.”
Yet they have done it, and so like in their last final appearance in 2013 — when they defeated Burkina Faso in South Africa — Nigeria will play in the tournament’s deciding game against a side they also faced in the group stage.
That 1-0 win over the Ivorians, when captain William Troost-Ekong netted a penalty, was what kickstarted the Super Eagles’ campaign here.
They had come into the tournament hampered by a succession of injury call-offs, and with a coach who had been the target of stinging criticism back home.
– Tactical switch –
A 1-1 draw with Equatorial Guinea in their first game did little to ease the pressure on veteran Portuguese tactician Jose Peseiro, but a switch to a three-man central defence paid dividends against the Ivorians and he has stuck with that system since.
As a result, Nigeria recorded four straight wins — all with clean sheets — on the way to the semi-final, when they beat South Africa on penalties after a 1-1 draw.
Napoli star Osimhen, the reigning African footballer of the year, is now just one game away from being an AFCON winner in what has often been a frustrating tournament for the 25-year-old.
He struck 10 times in qualifying, but has not scored in Cote d’Ivoire since netting in the opening game, although he has had three goals disallowed.
Nevertheless, Osimhen’s tireless performances have been eye-catching, and in any case the masked striker has always insisted that collective glory is all that matters.
“I always say this — it has been with me since growing up — I need to win something with the Super Eagles,” Osimhen told broadcaster Canal Plus Afrique.
“Football is one of the only things that brings joy to the country. We know a lot of people have had to work so hard just to be able to watch this game.
“I am really happy that we are able to put smiles on their faces. Now we have one more final to go and we will give everything to try to win it.”
-AFP
What a turn-around! After four previous competitive matches without a win, the Super Eagles have regained their winning mentality after a 3-0 defeat of Benin Republic in their opening 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying series.
The win also put the Super Eagles at the top of the Group D after both Libya and Rwanda played 1-1 draw last Thursday.
It is also the biggest win by the Super Eagles since their 2023 6-0 win over Sao Tome & Principe last year September.
Great man Ademola Lookman, he put in two goals straightening the possibility of his emerging as 2024 African Footballer of the Year.
The current title holder, Victor Osimhen proved his mettle coming off the bench in the second half to double Nigeria’s lead after Lookman’s late first half goal.
The Super Eagles will now honour their next fixture against Rwanda on Tuesday with the hope of consolidating their lead.
Benin Republic with no points and a deficit of three goals are rooted at the bottom of the log.
BY JOSEPH ODOEKWU
The National Chairman of the Nigerian Football Supporters Club (NFSC), Rev. Samuel Ikpea has called on all Nigerians to rally round and pray for the Super Eagles ahead of Saturday’s Morocco 2025 AFCON qualifier against Benin Republic in Uyo.
Ikpea who is mobilizing support for the Super Eagles ahead of the clash in Uyo said that whatever Benin Republic come with both spiritually and physically in the game, we will surely overcome them.
“In the NFSC we have Christians, Muslims as well as those who believe in traditional worship and we respect the rights of freedom of worship of every member and all Nigerians.
“When we are faced with this kind of crucial game, we call on everyone to pray through their various believes because we foresee that Benin Republic are most likely coming to fall back on ‘black magic’ to enable them perfect a back-to-back victory over our Super Eagles after beating us 2-1 in our last meeting in a World Cup qualifier”
“We cannot underestimate the efficacy of the black magic” Ikpea further stressed, “but we believe that when we come together we can neutralize it’s efficacy.
“This is no time to sleep, we all have to rally round and do our best to support our Super Eagles because they cannot do it alone without the prayers and support of all Nigerians.
“While charging Nigerians to be positive with the team, we at the NFSC have done everything positive to overturn whatever plans they are coming with and we enjoin everyone to toe that path through prayers”.
Meanwhile, the Super Eagles camp is bubbling with training in Uyo, as team Coach Austin Eguavoen, has been working hard to perfect tactics with the boys and ensure the Super Eagles soar on Saturday.
The Super Eagles have not won a qualifying match for any competition since their 6-0 defeat of Principe & Sao Tome on 10th September 2023 in Uyo. That was their last qualifying match for Cote d’Ivoire 2023 played in 2024.
Since then, they have played four World Cup qualifying matches without a win despite being the overwhelming favourites at those matches.
A forensic analysis of their World Cup qualifying since that of Qatar 2022 will reveal they had played seven consecutive matches without a win starting from their 1-1 home draw with Cape Verde in Lagos which qualified them for the play off. In the play off with Ghana, the Super Eagles drew the two matches.
In the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, they have gone four matches, getting three draws and a loss. The prospect of their getting a straight qualification from the group is doubtful as they have a mountain to climb by winning the remaining six matches, three of which are away duels of which are most likely to be played in South Africa, the home ground of their main rivals.
Zimbabwe and Lesotho play their home matches in South Africa and Nigeria also still have an away duel with Bafana Bafana.
The qualification series of AFCON 2025 presents the Super Eagles a new beginning. Starting from the semi-finals of the AFCON in Cote d’Ivoire, the team has won none of their four competitive matches in regulation time. The players have a date with destiny in Uyo this Saturday to wipe off the sagging image they have had in recent time.
A win will give the team the confidence expected in anticipation for future fixtures.
What a goal-laden day for Nigeria; Falconets also win with wide margin!
Hurray, Super Eagles back to winning ways!
‘Oh Come All Ye Faithful!’, Rev Ikpea calls on football fans to rally round Super Eagles
Breaking! Uzoho suspended from Super Eagles’ next match with Sierra Leone
No longer Super League as CAF changes name of its new clubs competition
AIU releases its report on Tobi Amusan
-
TRANSFER MARKET3 days agoPoints of Interest as Napoli’s coach apologises to Victor Osimhen
-
Badminton1 week agoAmerican beats Nigeria’s Segun Obasanjo
-
TRANSFER MARKET1 week agoTransfer market still bubbling as Chelsea agents lands in Napoli for Osimhen
-
TRANSFER MARKET1 week agoBREAKING! Osimhen is left stranded! Future remains uncertain
-
TRANSFER MARKET5 days agoLukaku pays respect to Osimhen
-
Nigerian Football1 week agoAs in 1974 , 1995 and 2005 another coach, Labbadia disappears from Nigeria’s national team job
-
PARALYMPICS5 days agoHow Mikano powered Eniola to Nigeria’s first medal at Paris 2024
-
AFCON1 week agoInterim Commander, Eguavoen opens up on his plans for Super Eagles