AFCON
Cote D’Ivoire In 48-hour Anxious Wait To Know Fate In Cup Of Nations –
Cote d’Ivoire will spend Tuesday and Wednesday waiting to see whether they will be able to continue at their own tournament after a horror loss in their last Africa Cup of Nations group game, which will go down as the biggest shock in finals history.
Equatorial Guinea, a country of only 1.6 million people and with a motley team comprised mainly of players from the lower leagues in Spain, upset the Ivorians 4-0 on Monday in the heaviest defeat ever suffered by a host nation.
It was a humiliating loss that left the Ivorians, jeered off by their own supporters, third in Group A and now waiting to see whether they will qualify for the last 16.
The top two teams in each group advance to the knockout stage, along with the four best third-placed finishers.
With Groups A and B completed on Monday, the Ivorians are still in contention especially after neighbours Ghana conceded two goals in stoppage time against Mozambique and drew 2-2 to finish third in Group B.
While the Ivorians collected three points from their trio of group games, Ghana managed only two and are likely to be eliminated with Groups C and D concluding on Tuesday and Groups E and F on Wednesday.
Ghana’s shock demise was a glimmer of light on a dark day for the Ivorians, whose defeat set off rioting among angry supporters with vehicles and buses stoned along the route from the Alassane Ouattara Olympic Stadium.
The game was an endless series of missed chances for the Ivorians while everything their lowly-ranked opponents touched turned to gold.
“In life, there are sometimes matches that turn into nightmares, matches where everything seems linked,” said Ivory Coast coach Jean Louis Gasset.
“We call this the disaster scenario. We have three points, because we won a match,” he said of their 2-0 success in the tournament opener against Guinea Bissau on Jan. 13.
“And we hope to still qualify as one of the four best third-place finishers. We are waiting for the results of others.”
Gasset, a former France assistant coach, said he could not fathom what went wrong.
“This is a difficult question. What went wrong with the players? I don’t think is their state of mind. When I see players crying in the locker room, it hurts me. The players tried. I think we’ve tried everything,” he added.
“When you have a scenario like this, which borders on a nightmare, there is not much to say or do.”
-Reuters
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.
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