BY Idris Shehu
The Super Eagles of Nigeria have returned to the country after finishing second at the just concluded Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Ivory Coast.
On Sunday, Nigeria lost 2-1 to the Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire in the AFCON final held at the Olympic Stadium, Ebimpe, Abidjan.
Nigeria took the lead in the match after William Troost-Ekong scored a powerful header in the first half, but Franck Kessie and Sebastien Haller scored in the second half for the Ivorians.
The loss halted the country’s dream of a fourth AFCON title for the time being.
Following the loss in the final, the players have returned to the country.
In a video shared by Diana-mary Nsan, media aide to John Enoh, minister of sports development, the players landed at the Nnamdi Azikwe Stadium in the early hours of Tuesday.
She added that the minister of sports development was with the team alongside Ibrahim Gusau, the president of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF).
The Eagles were welcomed by a sizeable crowd of people with miniature Nigerian flags. The fans clapped and cheered as the players descended from the plane.
Meanwhile, Alex Iwobi was singled out by many fans on social media for criticism over the team’s performance in the final.
The Fulham midfielder was targeted by trolls on social media who accused him of putting out a poor performance at the tournament.
The backlash culminated in Iwobi deleting almost all his Instagram posts.
The situation compelled Ahmed Musa, the Eagles captain, to call on Nigerians to stop “cyberbullying” his teammate, adding that Iwobi “gave his all on the field, just like every member of our squad”.
William Troost-Ekong, Victor Osimhen, Kenneth Omeruo and other members of the Eagles squad also threw their support behind Iwobi.
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