2023 Africa Cup of Nations: Can the Super Eagles do it again? 

The Super Eagles of Nigeria last won the African Cup of Nations tournament a decade ago.

Apart from Kenneth Omeruo and Ahmed Musa, none of the squad members  is in the present team.

And with the team's woeful performance winning just one of their last five matches, what will be the fate of the Super Eagles in AFCON 2023?

Over the years, the nomenclature 'Super Eagles' has been flying around. The team's commendable performances in continental and international competitions have been a major attraction to football lovers and this has earned a good name for the country. 

Since the inception of the African Cup of Nations tournament in 1957, the Super Eagles have recorded fluctuating runs in the competition as they withdrew in 1965, 1970, and 1996 due to political instability. 

They have also failed to qualify recently in the 2017, 2015, and 2012 editions of the tournament. The shock came when Nigeria could not even be represented in the continental tournament to defend their trophy in 2015.

Stephen Keshi who clinched the third  trophy for Nigeria as a coach after winning the 2nd AFCON trophy as a player was the same person in charge in 2015. 

Ostensibly, it is hard to state that the fault came from the head coach. The Super Eagles became the winner in 2013 with a squad filled with both foreign and home-based players.

Players like Sunday Mba, Azubuike Egwuekwe, and Godfrey Oboabona were invited by the then coach, Stephen Keshi and their presence in the squad was not a mistake.

Nigerians want to know why the present tactician of the national team, Jose Paseiro has failed to inject home-based footballers into the national team. 

The Super Eagles deserve credit for their performance in the tournament in 2019. The team impressed fans as they reached the semifinals but unfortunately could not edge past Algeria to taste the finals once again.

They went on to win the third-place match against South Africa and many Nigerians saw this moment as the return of the 'fierce Eagle'. 

The group stage matches in 2021 confirmed the beliefs of a better football team as they claimed the 9 attainable points. However, it took just a knockout match for the team to be sent back home.

Now that the 2023 edition is in less than a month, conversations have emanated as to whether the Super Eagles will do well.

With the crisis between the head coach and the NFF and the unstable condition of the nation's first-choice shot-stopper, Nigerians are skeptical about the performance of the team in Cote d'Ivoire.

According to Nse Essien, the NFF cannot afford to sack Jose Paseiro before the competition in January 2024 despite his unimpressive job delivery.

This is because it is the Sports Ministry that employed him, and he is still owed his monthly salary.

It would be unreasonable to think that a country that cannot pay the salary of a coach would be able to pay his compensation if he is sacked. Now that we cannot afford another coach, is there only one goalkeeper that can represent Nigeria? 

Francis Uzoho has faced backlashes online from well-wishers of the national team. His questionable performance started attracting problems for him when he failed to save an 'easy' goal against Ghana that cost him the ticket to perform at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

He has moved on to concede cheap goals at the expense of the whole team. Despite extending the invitation cards to Amas Obasogie and Adebayo Adeleye, the coach has not deemed it fit to test their confidence in goal.

The recent update is that Jose Paseiro is out to watch Chippa United's shot-stopper, Stanley Nwabili, and might invite him to represent Nigeria in Cote d'Ivoire, come January 2024. 

 A major challenge for the Super Eagles in Group A is the home advantage that the Ivorian squad will enjoy.

African teams have always been motivated to do better while they play on home ground. The stakes are high that the Ivory Coast would be the only tough clash for the Super Eagles.

With the impressive performances of Nigerian talents in Europe this season, there is much to expect from the team. 

Chuwang Joshua

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