Super Eagles quest for their fourth AFCON title is on after getting to know their group stage opponents for the 2025 Africa Cup Nations in Morocco.
The three-time Africa Cup of Nations champions will face Tunisia, Tanzania and Uganda in Group C.
The Super Eagles are one of the tournament’s favorites considering the quality of the squad and the team’s performance at the last tournament.
Cote D’Ivoire came from a goal down to beat Nigeria in the final of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations as the host nation wrapped up a dramatic turnaround in the tournament in glory.
Nigeria under then coach Jose Peseiro had quite a solid defense as they kept three clean sheets enroute to the final.
However, the defensively solidity seems to have watered down in in the post-Jose Peseiro era of the Super Eagles.
This among other challenges is what new manager Eric Chelle is likely to encounter if he will be the manager of the team at the start of the tournament in December.
This post highlights three problems the Super Eagles are likely to face at AFCON 2025.
1. Defensive Instability
The Super Eagles qualified for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations with two matches to spare but final of two matches left bitter memories in the minds of Nigerian football fans.
Victor Osimhen’s header late in the match against Benin Republic secured a one-one draw for the Super Eagles.
However, the team fell apart in the last game of the qualification series with a 2-1 home loss against Rwanda in Uyo. The loss signaled the end of Austin Eguavoen’s interim reign as coach of the Super Eagles.
One common factor similar to both disappointing performances was the team’s poor defense. The Super Eagles considered from aerial balls in both matches as the defenders fell flat.
Recall that the team also conceded from a set piece in the final of the last tournament which gave the host a lifeline into the match.
Asides, from struggling with set-pieces or aerial balls, the defense line tend to struggle with communication. This can be tied to changes in personnels in some instances as seen during the qualifiers.
The defensive trio of Williams Troost-Ekong, Semi Ajayi and Calvin Bassey did quite well at the 2023 AFCON but the trio have scarcely played together since the end of the tournament.
The Super Eagles will struggle against teams that can match them based on talents but can exploit their defensive struggles through free-kicks, corner-kicks or long balls into the box.
2. Dearth In Creative Outlets
Having watched the Super Eagles closely, it’s not out of place to conclude that the team rely heavily on his fast wingers to beat defenders on one-on-one occasions to create goalscoring opportunities. The team also utilize the wingers/forwards to launch counter attacks and also pounce on loose ball from the opposition’s defense.
However, the wingers can be easily neutralized against a team that is well set-up defensively with man-marking or putting two men on the most dangerous winger or striker on the pitch. Ademola Lookman and Victor Osimhen easily comes to find especially in the final of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations against Cote D’Ivoire.
The Super Eagles struggle to create chances from the middle of the pitch if the wingers are not involved which poses a problem.
Alex Iwobi is the most creative midfielder in the team and has the ability to create chances for the team but his role in the Super Eagles tend to change with different managers. While Jose Poseiro played the Fulham midfielder as a double pivot alongside Frank Onyeka at the last tournament, Austin Eguaveon once used him as a wide forward in one of the qualifiers.
Consequently, a lack of creative outlets leads to limited goalscoring opportunities especially for the strikers as the team often tend to rely on individual brilliance of the wide men.
3. Fans Support
One of the factors that contributed to Super Eagles’ success at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations was the support they got in the stadium from Nigerians based in Cote D’Ivoire or people of Nigerian-descent in the West African nation.
Ejigbo in Osun State and some parts in Cote D’Ivoire share cultural tradition due to trade, commerce and migration over a very long period of time.
The Super Eagles relied on the support from local residents of Nigerian-descent during the tournament until the final where some of them who were born in Cote D’Ivoire to Nigerian parents chose the Elephants over the Super Eagles in the final.
The Super Eagles won’t enjoy this kind of support not because they aren’t Nigerians in Morocco but the cost of travelling to the Morocco costs almost an arm and a leg.
A one-week stay in Morocco costs over $500 excluding visa and flight ticket. Should the Super Eagles stay beyond the group stage, one will have to spend more on travelling, accommodation, food, match tickets and other exigencies.
Nigeria will play all its group stage matches in Fes which is in the Northeast region of the country.
