With the World Cup just 16 days away, Nigeria’s fumbling failure to qualify means their fans had to make do with a tournament such as the Unity Cup, being held at Charlton FC’s The Valley for the first time in over two decades.
As the temperature hit 34 Celsius in South London on a weekday, it didn’t put off the Zimbabwe fans, who were fired up at the opportunity to see their team led by Marvelous Nakamba of Sheffield Wednesday. The Zimbabweans appeared to have outnumbered Nigerians by three to one in the sparse crowd. They seemed to have the time of their lives with the half-time performance of Zimbabwe star Baba Harare.
The disappointing turnout from Nigerians could be attributed to it being a weekday, demotivation from World Cup failure, and poor publicity by the organisers. Last year’s Unity Cup at Brentford’s Gtech Community Stadium drew a larger Nigerian following. It’s unclear whether a West London stadium was a better venue for Nigerian fans than a South London one. Tickets in the range of £70 for the stands near the centre circle don’t really encourage a huge turnout in the middle of a cost of living crisis heightened by the US/Israel attack on Iran.
All that aside, coach Eric Chelle should be encouraged by the performance of what is essentially his third team, featuring several debutants. It was a dream debut for Femi Azeez, who rose to the occasion with a brace in the fifth and 63 minutes. The Nigerian supporters chanted his name frequently and he felt at home, especially as he plays for Millwall, just four miles down the road from Charlton.
Chelle also handed debuts to fullbacks Kenneth Igboke and Chibueze Oputa from Nigerian champions Enugu Rangers. Igboke at leftback was a revelation until he started flagging late in the game and made a couple of rash challenges. Marseille defensive midfielder Tochukwu Nnadi aka “the Nigerian Caicedo” also had an impressive debut, with an all-action display mirroring the styles of Moises Caicedo and Ngolo Kante. He appears to be a solid replacement for the veteran Wilfred Ndidi,
It was difficult to judge the debut of Wrexham’s Arthur Okonkwo in goal. He only had one shot to save. And the central defence pairing of Igoh Ogbu and Chibuike Nwaiwu did well to protect the Nigerian goal. Nwaiwu looked the part as a ball-playing centre-back.
Chelle continues to show that he’s a breath of fresh air for Nigeria. Nigeria’s last three encounters with Zimbabwe all ended in draws and the ease of this win is a sign that the direction of travel looks good. He said at the post-match press conference: “The players worked a lot during two days, we had two training sessions of 3 hours. I was surprised they played well together like they have been playing for 6 months or 1 year. In reality, it’s the first time. They played well and they deserved the victory… Congratulations to the players.”
