- Agency Report
A cross section of football fans in Nigeria have criticised Nigeria’s performance in the 2-1 victory against Lesotho, albeit adding that there’s hope for 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification.
In separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the fans, who watched the game in a viewing center in Abuja, criticised the team for giving away a chance for a clean sheet in the game.
James Musa, an amateur footballer berated Super Eagles goalkeeper,Stanley Nwabali, adding that he should be replaced.
“Nwabali is definitely a gambler. I can’t be convinced otherwise.
“He can’t be our number one. He is too comfortable in that position because there’s no competition for him.
“The bar has gone too low that the decent performance we saw from him earlier, we celebrated it like it was a second Vincent Enyeama.
“This game was too poor. Anyway, there’s still hope for qualification,” Musa added.
Odion Okon, a secondary school teacher said the team doesn’t deserve a World Cup spot with their present outing.
“If you cannot score four goals atleast against Lesotho then you don’t deserve to be at the World Cup.
“Their performance today was disheartening. We needed to have scored a good number of goals as it could count in our favour since the permutations has started.
“Imagine the captain Willam Troost-Ekong, celebrating like he has won the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) after scoring a penalty against Lesotho.
“It was sad to watch. Nwabali on the other hand was a big joke. We only pray that the god of soccer is on our side,” Okon added.
Ajayi Adewale, a trader said Super Falcons players would perform better than the present Eagles team.
“We saw the likes of Esther Okoronkwo, Rasheedat Ajibade & Michelle Alozie at the African Women Cup do Nations. These girls can make better crosses than all of Super Eagles players.
“Imagine having Victor Osimhen and Tolu Arokodare as a against ‘average height’ Lesotho players and we are having zero aerial threat.
“Look at Nwabali, unnecessarily aggressive against South Africa, poor judgement, never takes responsibility.
“He’s always quick to apportion blame on teammates. I am even tired of watching them. If they qualify, good for them,” Adewale added.
Nigeria is currently third in group C with 14 points, one place behind South Africa who is second while Benin Republic sits top with 17 points.
The final qualifying fixture is against Benin Republic on Tuesday in Uyo and Nigeria hopes for a convincing victory against them at home to improve their chances of qualification. NAN