Soaring Super Eagles, Okoye for the Ladies and the State of AFCON’s Brand

The Super Eagles of Nigeria is currently doing some exploits at the 33rd edition of the  Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) taking place in Cameroon and have qualified for the next stage (round of 16) of the games. 

The AFCON tournament was recently expanded from 16 to 24 teams and the 24 teams travelled to Cameroon for the AFCON tournament which was supposed to be held in 2021 but was postponed due to COVID-19. 

In the group stage, the 24 competing nations are divided into six groups of four teams. The six group winners, six group runners up and the four best third-placed sides in the group will then progress to the round of 16. 

Although many people expected Nigeria to qualify from a group that included Egypt, Sudan, and Guinea-Bissau, few expected Nigeria to top the group or win all group stage matches.

Well, Nigeria won all 9 points out of a possible 9, becoming the only team to do so in the tournament’s group stage matches. They defeated all other teams in the group, including Egypt. Football pundits had touted Egypt as one of the finals favourites, and with a team captain who is one of the world’s most in-form players, and having won the AFCON the most times (7 times) the predictions were plausible. Nigeria, however, held the Pharaohs to account beating them 1 goal to nil.

Other times Nigeria has achieved the same feat of winning all group stage matches was in Egypt 2006, and Senegal 1992. 

Super Eagles following Group Stages in the Previous 10 AFCON

Nigerians have praised the team’s coach, Augustine Eguavon, who, coincidentally, has been involved as a player or a coach in each of the instances when Nigeria won all of the group stage matches.

Nigeria’s victory in the tournament was also accompanied by a slew of goals. Nigeria has scored six goals in the tournament, which is the joint-most in any AFCON group stage and it is the first time they have done so since 2004.

Ethiopia 1976, Ghana/Nigeria 2000, and Tunisia 2004 were among the other AFCONs in which the Super Eagles scored as many as six goals.

While the Super Eagles are making waves and having a roller coaster ride so far in the tournament, individual players are also displaying impressive talents and for those who don’t already, are hoping for better opportunities to play  European football in the future. Kelechi Iheanacho, Moses Simon, and Troost Ekong have all been standout players. In their 3 matches against Egypt, Sudan, and Guinea Bissau, all three players were named man of the match.

This could be a sign of hope not only for the Nigerian team winning the tournament but also for Super Eagles players winning individual awards. Individual awards up for grabs are; the Most Valuable Player (MVP), Best Goalkeeper, Best Young Player and the Golden Boot. 

On Individual Awards for the Super Eagles, Cameroon’s Aboubakar makes the Golden Boot a Stretch

With different players scoring Nigeria’s six goals thus far, the chances of a Nigerian retaining the Golden Boot won by the Super Eagles’ Odion Ighalo in the 2019 edition of the tournament held in Egypt are slim.

Aboubakar Vincent of Cameroon will be a challenge for each of the Super Eagles scorers. Vincent has already equalled Odion Ighalo’s previous edition tally of 5 goals and is poised to break a 10-edition record of no player scoring more than 5 goals, if his team advances to the finals. The last time an AFCON player won the Golden Boot with more than 5 goals was in 1998 when Hossam Hassan (Egypt) and Benni McCarthy (South Africa) both won the award with 7 goals. 

A brace or hat-trick from any of the Super Eagles in the next round, could possibly put a Nigerian in contention to win the Golden Boot or be a joint-winner at the end of the tournament. That is if Aboubakar’s goal-scoring spree slows in the round of 16.

A Sigh of Relief for Title Hopefuls as Two Finals Favourites Exit the Competition 

The conclusion of the group games has resulted in the elimination of two trophy favourites, Ghana and Algeria, from the competition, which is good news for trophy hopeful’s including Nigeria.

Ghana, one of the tournament’s favourites, was eliminated after failing to win a single match and losing to AFCON debutants Comoros in their final group stage fixture. Prior to the game against Comoros, Ghana’s Black Stars were defeated by Morocco by a solitary goal in their first game of the tournament and drew with Gabon in their second game. Ghana is the third most decorated AFCON winner, having won it four times in 1963, 1965, 1978, and 1982. 

Algeria, the defending champions, joined Ghana as one of the finals favourites to be knocked out in the first round of the competition. Algeria was eliminated from the group stages after losing to Ivory Coast in their third match of the competition in Cameroon.

Algeria’s exit would be welcome news for the Nigerian team, as the country still mourns their semi-final loss to Algeria, destroying their finals dreams in 2019.

Algeria was the second most likely team to win the AFCON finals, trailing only Senegal, while Ghana was the ninth most likely. And with these two teams out, Nigeria will have fewer teams to compete within the finals.

Super Eagles, Bring on the Next Opponent

In the Round of 16 of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, the Super Eagles will face the 2004 African champions, Tunisia. After an initial 1-0 loss to the Gambia, the Carthage Eagles qualified for the knockout phase of the competition as one of the four third-placed countries.

The most recent meeting between Nigeria and Tunisia was in Egypt in 2019 when Odion Ighalo’s first-half strike settled the third-place showdown between Gernot Rohr’s men and the North Africans for the bronze medal.

The winner from the match which will be held on Sunday will face either Burkina Faso or Gabon in the quarter-finals.  

Burkina Faso finished second in Group A with 4 points, they faced down Cameroon, Cape Verde, and Ethiopia in Group A for their second place position. Gabon, on the other hand, qualified with 5 points out of a possible 9 in a group C which included Morocco, Ghana, and Comoros.

Neither Gabon nor Burkina Faso have ever won the AFCON, although Burkina Faso had come close when they finished third in 2017 when Cameroon won the trophy. They were also runners-up in 2013, the last time Nigeria won the tournament.

The 2013 match between Nigeria and Burkina Faso ended 1-0. After 40 minutes of play, Sunday Mba collected a deflected shot, flicked the ball over Mohamed Koffi with his right foot, and then volleyed the goal with his left.

Nigeria and Burkina Faso were in the same group at the 2013 AFCON tournament in Gabon, and Burkina Faso led the group on goal difference. In their group stage encounter which ended 1-1, Nigeria had scored through Emenike but Alain Traoré of Burkina Faso equalized with seconds to go in the match.

Burkina Faso will be a real threat to Nigeria if they beat Gabon in the round of 16.

Gabon, despite not finishing in the top four since the competition’s inception in 1957, are no pushovers and will present a challenge to Burkina Faso

Nigeria is the joint-most decorated team in AFCON history, and with recent performance and pairings, the odds are stacked in their favour to reach the finals. Nigeria has won a total of 15 medals at the AFCON over the years. Three gold medals (1980, 1994, and 2013), four silver medals (1984, 1988, 1990, and 2000), and eight bronze medals ( 1976, 1978, 1992, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2010, 2019 ). Only Egypt has won as many medals as Nigeria although Egypt has more gold medals than Nigeria.

The AFCON Brand may be Dancing in Muddy Puddles

Nigeria’s impressive outing thus far and the fun of the AFCON tournament are not enough to cover up the drama. The tournament has stayed true to its history as a tournament of you-have-to-see-it-to-believe-it drama. From the 22 penalties scored in Senegal’s finals in 1992 to Cameroon’s choice of a sleeveless shirt in 2002 and a one-piece kit in 2004.

This edition has seen some bizarre incidents that have harmed the tournament’s global positioning and brand and might even substantiate the “europe disrespects African football” allegations.

The most publicized incident occurred during a Group F match between Mali and Tunisia, which was marred by controversy when the second period of the match turned into a bizarre adaptation of whodunnit due to some highly unusual decisions and timekeeping by the Zambian referee Janny Sikazwe.

Mali won the match 1-0 thanks to Ibrahima Kone’s second-half penalty, but it is the referee who makes the headlines and for all the wrong reasons. Sikazwe, who had previously been suspended on corruption charges, gave two highly contentious penalties, flashed an even more contentious red card, and blew the full-time whistle twice. Once after 85 minutes, and again with 11 seconds of normal time remaining.

In the game between Mauritania and the Gambia, the person in charge of the audio perhaps missed the memo about the change in Mauritania’s national anthem and instead played Mauritania’s old national anthem. The country’s national anthem was changed in 2017, but their players heard the old anthem three times in a row and eventually had to sing their own national anthem to end the torture. 

The 2022 AFCON tournament has delivered fully on its entertainment mandate thus far, providing impressive moments like Nigeria’s Moses Simon’s messi-worthy dribble in their match against Guinea-bissau and outtakes that are bound to become memes and trend on twitter in the months to come. 

The many dramatic incidents have also impacted on the brand and perception of the AFCON tournament although some may not have noticed, choosing rather to focus on the interesting moments or even individuals like the enchanting Nigerian goalkeeper, Maduak Okoye, who appears to have charmed the ladies on social media.