Nigeria failed to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations final, following their 2-1 defeat to Algeria on Sunday night.
The Eagles had drawn level thanks to Odion Ighalo’s penalty, following William Troost-Ekong’s unfortunate own goal.
But Riyad Mahrez stepped up and curled a wonderful free-kick in the
94th minute, to secure his country’s place in the final against Senegal
this Friday.
So, what are the five things we learnt from the game?
1. Akpeyi, again: For so long, Akpeyi has gotten away with it. But
when it really mattered, he didn’t cover himself with glory. The Kaizer
Chiefs’ goalkeeper did not set his wall up for that Mahrez and his
position was suspect. Not saying he was responsible for the loss. But
this game should have at least gone into extra time.
2. Argentina carbon copy: Watching the game against Algeria,
Nigerians could be forgiven for having flashbacks to the last group
fixture at the 2018 World Cup against Argentina. At 1-1, anything was
possible. But the players and coach conspired to throw it away with
their slackness and lack of reaction respectively.
3. Dodgy subs: Although, he was double-marked most of the time,
Chukwueze was the better wide player for the Eagles. But when Rohr had
to make a change, it wasn’t the ineffective Musa that came out.
Onyekuru, who came on, hardly had time to influence the game. Also,
maybe an extra body in midfielder would have helped stem the late
onslaught.
4. Deserved winners: Make no mistakes. This was not a close encounter
as suggested by the final scoreline. The Algerians were by far a
superior team to the Super Eagles. Ighalo’s equalizer came out of
nowhere and breathed excitement into the game. But the Desert Foxes
deservedly won it.
5. What next? A third-place playoff. Rohr should be looking to win
that game, so that the team does not leave Egypt empty-handed. After
then, can he now begin a post mortem of Nigeria’s outing at the
competition? It however remains to be seen if he will still be in the
job for much longer.