Win or win

At last, September has sneaked in on us. We can only hope that it becomes a ‘September to remember’ positively.

Even as the Super Eagles’ World Cup qualifying camp opens this Monday September 1, the attention of every genuine football lover who is a fan of the men’s senior football team is on the two crack qualifying in the next eight days.

The first is against Rwanda on Saturday, September 6 at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium (Nest of Champions) Uyo, Akwa Ibom State while the second is against South Africa on September 9 at the Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein.

Is there any need to remind anyone that both games are ‘must win’  or even ‘win or win’ encounters? Meaning: there are absolutely zero margins for errors.

After taking a deep and reflective look at the Super Eagles’ campaign in this World Cup qualifiers, I have had to come to the following four conclusions:

1. Dismal campaign so far

This 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign has been a really poor, uninspiring series till now. The form that the Eagles have displayed in almost all the games (till now) is not deserving of a World Cup ticket. Those who have given up hope and written off Nigeria’s chances of making it to the United States of America-Canada-Mexico for next year’s Mundial have every right to do so.

Who will explain the fact that the Eagles have won only one game out of the six qualifying matches? Who can justify the fact that Nigeria is aiming for her first home win of the campaign on match day 7 and teams like Lesotho and Zimbabwe have already visited?

So out of the maximum 9 points available at home since the qualifiers began, Nigeria has picked only three. If this winless run at home continues after Saturday’s game, the Super Eagles should just wave the 2026 World Cup aspirations a sad and painful good bye. Nigeria’s form away from home has not been any better with the team managing a win, a loss and a draw, picking up four points out of a possible nine.

As stated in an earlier write up that the Eagles still have a glimmer of hope of a World Cup ticket after such a lacklustre and lousy showing (so far) is the real ‘miracle’ of the campaign.

2. Staying hopeful and optimistic

In spite of this gloomy campaign and very shaky hope, there is still a thin thread of life to hold on to. A few incurable optimists like my humble self (my respected senior and boss, Mitchell Obi, called me an Evangelist the other day) believe it is not over until it is truly over. The truth is that Nigeria’s 2026 World Cup hopes are still firmly in her hands. The Super Eagles can still do it themselves without the help of a third party. There is still something to hold on to.

It is now the responsibility of the sports authorities – National Sports Commission (NSC) and the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to ensure that the team, inclusive of Coach Eric Chelle, his assistants, the players and backroom staff are properly motivated and encouraged to play with vigour, renewed hope, hunger and enthusiasm, taking the campaign one game at a time and giving it their 100 per cent in commitment. Anything can happen.

3. Guarding against naivety

It is important for the technical crew, in fact the entire team, to guard against naivety and demonstrate experience with intelligence. Game management is a skill that the coach and the players should deploy in a matured and clever manner.

Chelle has a weakness that should be corrected immediately. His game management can be better. His teams find it difficult to keep clean sheets. Under the Franco-Malian, the Eagles A Team has kept just one clean sheet in five games, that is, a really poor 20 per cent clean sheet record. On the positive side, the team (Super Eagles A) has scored in every game under him, that is a 100 per cent scoring return.

So, simplistically, we can assume on the basis of this statistic above that Nigeria will pick up the six points at stake in the games to be played on Saturday and next Tuesday if she can keep clean sheets in both games.

I have a very good feeling about the team’s attack, especially with the inclusion of Cyriel Dessers in the squad for the first time in a competitive game. I pray the coaches are able to get the best out of our unsettled star boy Ademola Lookman because Nigeria will need him at his physical and mental best for both games. I also hope that captain William Troost Ekong (I call him Trusted Troost), an epitome of maturity, leadership, discipline and sacrifice, can sound it loudly in his team mates’ consciousness what they need to bring to the table to keep Nigeria’s 2026 World Cup dreams alive.

I know one thing for a fact, if the Eagles give their 100 per cent in these games, they will be unstoppable. I can hear in my mind someone saying,
‘Can they give a 100 per cent? And why have they not given it in previous games to keep us out of the precarious situation we have now found ourselves?’ Well, the question is spot on.
We can only hope that the display of 100 per cent commitment on the pitch starts on Saturday in Uyo and never stops.

4. Cross check all records

Honestly speaking, the reason the Eagles are still nursing any hope of landing the 2026 World Cup ticket in Group C of the African qualifiers is because of the lifeline thrown to them by the South African Football Association (SAFA) in using an ineligible player, Teboho Mokoena, against Lesotho on MatchDay 5. So, let us appeal to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) that they do a double check of all the records relating to the eligibility of players and go through all the correspondences with the world football governing body, FIFA, on the qualifying campaign once again. Let the front and back doors be firmly shut against any technicalities that could lead to the loss of hard earned points.

This must be a September to remember for all the good reasons.