Former Nigeria international Eric Ejiofor has rejected attempts to place the Super Eagles’ 3-0 defeat to Guinea-Bissau primarily on the poor playing surface, describing Nigeria’s overall performance as shocking and deeply discouraging.
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The Super Eagles suffered their first defeat under Eric Chelle on Tuesday as Guinea-Bissau produced a commanding performance to collect all three points in their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying encounter.
For Ejiofor, who represented Nigeria at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, the manner of the defeat was as concerning as the scoreline.
“I was shocked by the performance and the result,” Ejiofor said while assessing Nigeria’s display.
Much of the post-match conversation has centred on the condition of the pitch at the 24 de Setembro Stadium, which had already generated concerns before kick-off.
Chelle acknowledged after the match that the surface was poor, but also accepted responsibility and admitted Guinea-Bissau were the better side.
Ejiofor believes that distinction is important.
While accepting that a difficult pitch can affect passing, movement and a team’s ability to execute its preferred style, the former Enyimba defender insists it cannot sufficiently account for Nigeria losing by three unanswered goals.
“We cannot solely blame the condition of the pitch for an embarrassing result like this,” he said.
His position also reflects an unavoidable reality: Guinea-Bissau competed on the same surface and were still able to impose themselves on the Super Eagles.
The Wild Dogs were more effective in key areas, putting Nigeria’s defence under pressure, controlling important periods of the match and displaying greater efficiency in front of goal.
The defeat followed Nigeria’s 2-1 victory over Madagascar in Uyo, a result that had already generated concerns about the overall quality of the Super Eagles’ performance despite securing three points.
Nigeria must now recover quickly, with their next qualifier against Tanzania taking on greater significance after the setback in Bissau.
For Ejiofor, however, improvement must begin with an honest assessment of what went wrong rather than searching for a convenient explanation.
The pitch may have been poor, but it was not responsible for everything — and Ejiofor believes the Super Eagles’ performance itself should be the biggest concern.
