BY JOSEPH ODOEKWU
The Super Eagles of Nigeria will have nothing to benefit even if eventually FIFA deducts points from the Bafana Bafana of South Africa for fielding an ineligible player in their match day 5 fixtures against Lesotho.
Nigeria who were compelled to a late draw yesterday in Uyo by Zimbabwe are currently fourth on the table now with 7 points, with South Africa on top with 13 points, while Rwanda are second with 8 points and Benin third with 8 points.
Meanwhile, Lesotho who are making the case for the fielding of ineligible player are currently on the fifth position behind Nigeria with six points, and if the case goes in their favour it means FIFA will award them three points as they will now have 9 points and move to the second position on the table right behind South Africa with one point adrift.
This makes the situation tougher for Nigeria as they will drop to fifth position on the table and their hope becomes dim.
Nigeria Have Failed on Home Ground
The Super Eagles chance of qualifying for the World Cup even after the deduction is extremely low. The team has not shown that there is an advantage playing on home soil as they have failed to secure a single win in any of their home matches.
The only win they have secured in the six matches they have played so far was their 2-0 victory over Rwanda in Kigali and for a team that is hungry to qualify for the World Cup, they must have the ability to win home matches.
They have 12 points to fight for in the remaining 2026 FIFA World Cup fixtures, two of those matches will be at home while the remaining two will be away fixtures. Their chances of scaling with their current home performances is not feasible considering their performances.
Is coaching the Super Eagles Challenge?
So far, the Super Eagles have played six matches with three different coaches, and this is the very first time they will aim at qualifying for the World with this high number of coaches.
The closest to this statistics which the Super Eagles have ever had was the qualifier for the Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup, where two managers (Sunday Oliseh & Gernot Rohr) were involved in Nigeria’s qualification before they picked the ticket but the situation now is different.
The team used Jose Peseiro, Finidi George and Eric Chelle. All the three managers have played two matches each with only Chelle getting the best of result with one win and a draw. Peseiro had two draws while Finidi lost a game and drew another.
Nigeria’s hope of qualifying is deemed, but they must win their remaining four matches if they have to keep their hopes of qualifying alive.
SUPER EAGLES REMAINING FIXTURES
Nigeria vs Rwanda (Home)-September
South Africa vs Nigeria (Away)- September
Lesotho vs Nigeria (Away)- October
Nigeria vs Benin Republic (Home)- October
