Task Before S’Eagles, Bravo, D’Tigress

Today at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo, christened, Nest of Champions, Nigeria’s Super Eagles will be up against the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon in the first game of a double-header in the race for a ticket to the 2018 edition of the World Cup in Russia.
It is a crucial fixture that will, to a large extent determine the fate of either team in their bid to secure the sole ticket available in the Group B of the African qualifying series. Other countries in the group are Algeria and Zambia.
Indeed, the Super Eagles need to beat the Lions to consolidate their position and increase their prospect of making it to the mundial, next year. Currently, Nigeria is in good position, leading Group B with six points from two matches, with Cameroon second on two points, while Algeria and Zambia have one point, respectively.
But anything short of victory in today’s match will surely threaten the chances of Nigeria hoisting her flag in Russia, next year. In fact, the encounter, being played at home before the away leg on Monday, is a make or mar tie as the Super Eagles need an outright victory to be in a comfortable stead. Victory will certainly elevate the Eagles to nine points and closer to the championships while a loss to the Lions, would buoy the Cameroonians and strengthen their resolve to overtake Nigeria in subsequent games.
Interestingly, the Super Eagles will be gunning for a 12th victory over the Lions today in Uyo. In 19 previous encounters, Nigeria has beaten Cameroon 11 times, lost four times and recorded draws four times. Of these four Cameroonian victories, three were final matches of the Africa Cup of Nations, all won by the Lions, including a nail-biting penalty shoot out in Lagos in February, 2000. They also stopped the Eagles in Abidjan 1984; Casablanca 1988 to win the African titles. In previous World Cup qualifiers, Nigeria beat Cameroon in the qualifying series for the 1970 mundial, winning 3-2 in Douala after a 1-1 draw in Lagos. But they took revenge in 1989, in the race for Italia ’90, pipping Nigeria 1-0 in Yaounde to eliminate the Eagles, only two weeks after the death of Nigeria’s Sam Okwaraji.
However, Cameroon, who are current African champions are desperate to upstage the Eagles in Uyo before going back home to put themselves in effective command in the race for Russia 2018 ticket. The Lions are encouraged by the recent poor performance of the Eagles against South Africa’s Bafana Bafana in an AFCON 2019 qualifier, which Nigeria lost 0-2 at the same Uyo stadium. They are talking tough and want to emulate the South Africans.
That is why the Super Eagles must guard against any kind of complacency in their approach to today’s game. The crucial nature of the match cannot be over-emphasised. We expect the players, coaches and the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to do the needful and ensure that no stone is left unturned in the bid to achieve total victory for Nigeria.
The timely arrival of players to camp and return of some of the experienced legs to the Eagles are signs that there is a new disposition in the team. However, players must work hard and evolve good team spirit, coaches adopt the right and effective strategies, while the NFF provides the needed logistics and support to enable the Eagles fly convincingly.
Similarly, we expect the fans to exhibit the highest sense of patriotism by providing maximum support to the team, even when the going appears to be tough for the Super Eagles. All hands must, indeed, be on deck for Nigeria to not only beat Cameroon today but go all the way to the 2018 World Cup and do well.
Moreover, the recent victory of the national women basketball team, D’Tigress, who won the 2017 FIBA Women’s Afrobasketball Tournament in Mali is an indication that Nigerians can thrive in the face of odds and should serve as a tonic for all Nigerian teams.
In fact, apart from the D’Tigress winning the trophy in Mali, they also qualified for the 2018 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in Spain and this should be a morale booster for the Eagles.
The Tide is happy with the D’Tigress and commends the players and officials for making Nigeria proud, despite obvious challenges occasioned by leadership tussle in the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF). While most people least expected the D’Tigress to shine owing to the imbroglio in NBBF, the team rose above the crisis to conquer Africa and also look poised to take on the world.
Even as we commend the performance, sense of purpose and dedication of the D’Tigress and their handlers, we urge the Super Eagles and, indeed, all national teams to borrow a leaf from D’Tigress and fly the Nigerian flag high at every given opportunity.