The Super Eagles and the curse of permutations

The Super Eagles of Nigeria line up before their stalemate against Cape Verde on Tuesday. (Photo credit: TheNFF)

The Super Eagles of Nigeria held on to a 1-1 draw by Cape Verde to advance to the next phase of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers in Lagos on Tuesday and you wonder if that’s the best the team can come up with.

Qualifying for major tournaments in a way has always been challenging for the supposed African giants, despite being in a group that was branded to be easy, losing at home to Central Africa Republic late on heaped pressure on the team and they had to beat Liberia away to remain top of the group.

The memories of the 2006 World Cup miss lingers and the current set up brings to the fore the fear of a repeat, what is hard to explain is the type of embarrassing displays despite the abundance of talent available to Gernot Rorh and his coaching set up.

Speaking of the head coach Gernot Rorh, it’s in the media that he is being owed several months of salaries, there you have the answer to why he hasn’t been fired as not many top coaches would accept the terms and conditions it takes to work in Nigeria.

Advancement to the next and final phase of qualification comes with a certain level of responsibility; Nigeria must negotiate a two legged game against one of Ghana, Egypt, Mali, Congo DR and Cameroon, on paper and current form, no Nigerian is confident of any draw as it stands.

We always need someone to beat someone so we can qualify, that won't come to play this term as it is a two legged affair and it's winner takes all.

You have to beat the best to be the best is a very valid statement in this context, but there’s no business at the global stage for a team that can’t confidently beat African minnows, despite having some of the best players on the continent, the team has been a pain to watch.

Beating Liberia 2-0 seemed a big deal but would you be reminded that the two goals came from the spot early on and late on in the game; they scored very early against Cape Verde as well and then conceded just few minutes later, it’s a scary situation to say the least.

Like Italy and Portugal, the potential is right there with the Super Eagles, but if care is not taken, they would need data to watch the mundial from the corners of their living rooms as opposed to mixing it in the Middle East late next year.

We have enough quality in the squad already, the re-introduction of Odion Ighalo is an unnecessary distraction; there are players all around the globe that can help the Super Eagles, Odion Ighalo isn't one of them if we're being honest.

Without mincing words, coach Rorh should go, he isn’t good enough and he doesn’t have what it takes to take the team to high places, like Clarence Seedorf and Patrick Kluivert did with the Cameroon team that went to the last AFCON, clean suits and sharp appearances with absolutely nothing to show for it.

A new coach should lead the team to the Nations Cup in January, and prepare the team for the playoffs in March, Nigeria cannot afford to miss the World Cup, but with Rorh in charge, it will most likely end in premium tears.