Eyewitness shares firsthand details of what he noticed about Super Eagles players during halftime v Benin 

Super Eagles media officer Promise Efoghe has shared firsthand details of what he noticed about the Nigeria national team players during the halftime of their 2-1 loss to Benin's Cheetahs in a 2026 World Cup qualifying match played at Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny on Monday evening.

Nigeria are walking the tightrope after four matches in the World Cup qualifiers as they trail table-toppers Rwanda by four points and have yet to visit South Africa who also have the same number of points as the Wasps. 

It seemed the Super Eagles  meant business when Club Brugge midfielder Raphael Onyedika, of all people, opened the scoring in the 27th minute,  but Jodel Dossou restored parity before Steve Mounié netted what proved to be the game-winning goal in the third minute of first half stoppage time.

Efoghe, who was in the dressing room at halftime, revealed that he noticed that the Super Eagles players were very disappointed to be losing to Benin and tried to turn things around in the second half. 

Gernot Rohr's team frustrated the Super Eagles by adopting a defensive approach for most of the second half, sticking with eleven players behind the ball. 

Speaking to TVC News from Abuja, the newly appointed Super Eagles media officer said: "I can tell you that the players are disappointed in their own performance. At halftime when Benin scored those two goals I saw the players walking into the dressing room with their heads down.

"They were disappointed in their own performances and were poised to turn the table on its head in the second half but unfortunately Benin had other ideas. 

"They came into the second half and refused to play football, they sat back to soak the pressure and tension from the Nigeria team.

"In the second half the Super Eagles did everything possible to get an equalizer but that did not happen because Benin team all went behind the ball.

"After 90 minutes same disappointment on the faces of these players. The flight back to Abuja was a bit boring, no one was talking because everyone was reflecting on the disappointment of losing to Benin."

The Super Eagles, fifth in the six-team table, will face Rwanda and Zimbabwe in the World Cup qualifiers in March 2025.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

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