Nigeria scraped through another 1-1 draw in three days in their second World Cup qualifier against Zimbabwe, having previously stunk out their home match to lowly Lesotho by the same scoreline. As the low-flying “Super Eagles” were losing 1-0 at halftime, the sound system at the Huye Stadium in Butare, Rwanda blared out Bob Marley’s classic “Zimbabwe”.
One memorable line from the song is: “Soon we’ll find out who is the real revolutionaries, and I don’t want my people to be tricked by mercenaries”. This was a match for Nigerian fans to find out whether they had a real team with the drive to qualify for the World Cup. Defender Kenneth Omeruo had said before the game: “We are on a redemption mission; a serious business is what we have come for.”
Such confidence before the game must have been a trick on the fans as they served up the same lethargic display as seen against Lesotho, that had heads being scratched about whether the players and their coach Jose Peseiro were really that interested in World Cup qualification.
The match was played in Rwanda because Zimbabwe, the home team, didn’t have any grounds of international level. There was little evidence that Nigeria had a team of international standards either. There was no sense of urgency in Nigeria’s play even after Zimbabwe took the lead from a 26th minute freekick by Walter Musona from about 35 yards. Although it was well-struck with a lot of swerve, Francis Uzoho always looked like he would concede any shot on target. A response from Nigeria was not forthcoming as crosses and passes were wasted. They continued to play like a side that is not coached, which raises serious questions about Peseiro’s influence and what he is being paid for – assuming he is getting paid.
At least, he reacted at the break, throwing in three subs – Kelechi Iheanacho, Victor Boniface and Bright Osayi-Samuel for the ineffectual debutant Nathan Tella, Terem Moffi and Ola Aina. Subbing the entire team that started the first half would have been an option if allowed. Osayi-Samuel posed a threat down the right but his final ball was as woeful as that of his teammates.
The first time Nigeria managed to string some passes together in Zimbabwe’s half led to the equaliser after 67 minutes. Joe Aribo, who was pedestrian all through, managed to lob a decent ball to Moses Simon, who fed Iheanacho with a perfectly weighted pass that allowed the Leicester striker to side-foot into the bottom righthand corner of the Zimbabwe goal.
Nigeria improved a bit after scoring, but it was from a subpar level, as Zimbabwe seemed content with a point. But Nigeria’s final ball continued to disappoint and they just couldn’t seem to create enough for the strikers. This side has the double disadvantage of being unable to create chances while having Uzoho in goal, who is guaranteed to gift opportunities to the opposition. He dropped a cross in the 81st minute that left his gaping goal at the mercy of a Zimbabwe striker, who lost his head at the vital moment.
Not to be outdone by Uzoho’s clanger, defender Semi Ajayi’s poor control nearly presented the winner on a platter to Zimbabwe on two occasions in the dying minutes.
With just two points out of a possible six against teams considered minnows in African football, it is difficult to see how Nigeria can get a win for love or money against Group C leaders South Africa and the other teams in the group like Rwanda and Benin. It is all well and good lamenting the absence of the magicians from the past such as Jay Jay Okocha and Nwankwo Kanu. But the least you would expect from a team lacking in inspiration is to make up for it with perspiration.
When teams like Zimbabwe and Lesotho are playing better than Nigeria and also beating the supposedly better team in terms of effort, Nigeria should consider themselves lucky to have escaped both matches without defeat.
