AFCON 2025
Super Eagles hopes of qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup suffered a setback as they failed to record maximum points against Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe scored a late equalizer in Uyo to cancel out Victor Osimhen’s opener in the 74th minute.
With two points dropped, the chances of the Super Eagles qualifying for the World Cup has become slimmer.
Here are the three points learned.
1. Eric Chelle’s Blunder and Terrible Defending
Super Eagles coach Eric Chelle made a blunder as he failed to manage the game with the substitution he made. Bringing in Victor Boniface for Osimhen instead of a defender or another defensive midfielder left the Super Eagles open in defense.
Also, a lack of concentration in defense led to Zimbabwe’s equalizer. Tawanda Chirewa effortlessly sliced through the defense before slotting the ball under the arm of Stanley Nwabali.
2. Lackluster in front of goal
Eric Chelle’s men were quite wasteful in front of goal as they failed to convert chances in the game especially in the first half. The lack of decisiveness in front of goal came back to hurt the team late in the game.
3. A lack of structure and identity.
Even though the team have a decent pool of quality players, a lack of structure and identity is lacking. It appears that every new coach tries to impose his style on the team without a structural identity or framework for the coach to work with.
With top spot in Group C now almost impossible, the Super Eagles need to win their remaining fixtures to stand a chance of qualifying for the playoffs.
