Super Eagles aim to end AFCON qualifiers in style in Lagos

HAVING already qualified for next year’s Africa Cup of Nations, the Super Eagles take on Lesotho in Lagos on Monday in a very comfortable position.

Instead of worrying about their spot at the tournament in Cameroon in 2022, the Nigerians will be aiming to entertain Lagos fans and keep their unbeaten campaign intact.

Although just a few hundreds of spectators will be allowed into the Teslim Balogun Stadium, this will not stop the Lagos crowd from demanding near perfection from kick off at 5pm until the final whistle.

The Lagos crowd are notoriously hard to please, and not watching the senior national team in competitive action in 20 years will not make them less demanding.

They will expect the Super Eagles to put up a spectacle against the minnows from Southern Africa, and the Nigerian lads had better oblige them.

Just winning has never been enough for Lagos, you have to win with some style, some beautiful football. Ex-Super Eagles players like Alloy Agu, Joseph Yobo and Patrick Pascal who are still around the current team can let them know what to expect. Booing their own national team is not forbidden in Lagos; they can turn on their own in a flash if the opponents are playing better.

However, beyond putting up a show for the hard-to-please Lagos fans, Gernot Rohr will have another purpose on Tuesday.

This is the best time for the Super Eagles head coach to try out some of his fringe players in a (quasi) competitive setting, rather than in friendly games where there is not much at stake.

For instance, Paul Onuachu, who came off the bench to score the winner against Benin Republic on Saturday, could start and get more time to prove that he can translate his ridiculously good club form (27 goals in 30 matches for Genk) to the national team.

Enyimba’s Anayo Iwuala also impressed in the few minutes he had on Saturday and could do even better with more playing time. Goalkeeper Francis Uzoho could also have a shot at regaining his starting spot, while the likes of Oghenekaro Etebo, Tyrone Ebuehi and Semi Ajayi could do with some action too.

After going through five games without defeat in the qualifiers, the Super Eagles will also want to end their campaign unbeaten like Egypt, Algeria, Burkina Faso and Tunisia, all of whom played six matches without defeat.