2018 Super Eagles Squad
It was a most glorious moment in the country’s soccer anal. The whole country resonated in wild in jubilation. At last, the Eagles have landed on the big world stage! So we thought. But then, the Albicelestes of Argentina had other ideas. In our second match against the Argentines, the Super Eagles were quickly brought back to earth as the game was briskly settled in the first 29 minutes.
Ironically, it was the Super Eagles that shot the first salvo with a Samson Siasia 8th minute goal. Not quite long after that, the Diego Maradona inspired Argentine side quickly responded with a Claudio Caniggia 22nd and 29th minute brace. And that ended the contest at Argentina 2, Nigeria 1. Thus began the Super Eagles series of miseries in the hand of the Argentines.
At the Japan-Korea 2002 World Cup, the Super Eagles again had the misfortune of squaring it up with their nemesis, the Argentines. Though, the Coach Adegboye Onigbinde tutored side was able to lessen the tally to just a solitary Gabriel Bastituta’s 63rd minute header via a corner kick, the Argentines were actually the better team on the day. But for the resolute Super Eagles defence ably marshaled by Taribo West, the result could have been more scandalous.
At the 2010 World Cup held in South Africa, the Super Eagles also had the ill-fated fortune of facing the Argentines. As it was in 2002, the Super Eagles fell to a lone Gabriel Heinze 6th minute goal, crashing out of the championship in the group stage.
As if there is a conspiracy by FIFA to persistently compound Super Eagles’ World Cup woe, the team was once again pitched in same group as the Albicelestes in Brazil 2014. The Super Eagles fought gallantly to put up a better show, coming behind twice to hold the Argentines, thanks to an Ahmed Musa brace. But then, as it is often said in football lexicon, form is temporary while class is permanent. The Argentines eventually outclassed the Super Eagles through a classy Lionel Messi’s genius that ended the match 3- 2 in favour of the Albicelestes.
The latest painful loss of the Super Eagles to Argentina at the ongoing Russian 2018 World Cup makes it the fifth time in 24 years that the South American team would stand in the way of the Super Eagles’ progression at the global soccer championship. Now that broken soccer fans’ hearts are being healed, it is important to dissect the Super Eagles’ 24 years of bashing in the hand of the Argentines.
Looking at the five World Cup defeats the Super Eagles suffered in the hand of the Argentines, the gap between the two teams is not really so wide. Rather, what is essentially observable is that the Eagles seem to have so much respect for the Albicelestes. In, at least, three of the encounters, 2010, 2014 and 2002, the Argentines were not really too fantastic against the Eagles and could have been taken to the cleaners if only the latter had a better mental fortitude.
So, the Eagles’ flawed mental resilience is basically an issue in almost all the defeats. In the last defeat especially, the Super Eagles were obviously needlessly awed by Messi and his colleagues. In the first three matches so far played by the Albicelestes in the current World Cup, it is evident that there is really nothing extraordinary about them. The Iceland and Croatia national teams have shown that with the right metal approach, the Albicelestes could easily be caged.
Lack of concentration particularly cost the Eagles dearly in the latest loss as the team was just few minutes away from holding the Argentines. The way the Eagles defence allowed Marco Rojo to sneak in the winner for Argentines simply reinforces this. Also, the manner in which Ighalo and co flopped the few chances that came their way reflects absolute of concentration. In bigger soccer stages such as the World Cup, the stakes are higher and so every second counts. Hopefully, the Eagles and their handlers had learnt this, albeit in a bitter manner.
Ogunbiyi is of the Lagos State Ministry of Information & Strategy, Alausa Ikeja.
