The Chief Executive Officer of Monimichelle Sports Facility Construction Ltd, Ebi Egbe, has urged Nigerians to look beyond the players and coaching crew when assessing the Super Eagles’ disappointing outing against Guinea-Bissau, insisting that the condition of the playing surface must also be part of the conversation.
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Nigeria suffered a 3-0 defeat to Guinea-Bissau in Bissau, dealing an early blow to the Super Eagles’ 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualification campaign.
Egbe, a professional groundsman and long-standing advocate for improved football infrastructure, believes performances cannot always be judged purely through tactics, team selection and individual mistakes when players are required to operate on difficult surfaces.
“Don’t throw the blame on the players and the coaching crew,” Egbe said. “Look beyond the tactics and individual performances. Blame the 12th player on the pitch — the playing surface.”
According to Egbe, poor pitches can significantly alter the technical demands of a football match, particularly for players accustomed to fast and consistently maintained surfaces at their European clubs.
“When you put elite players, trained to play fast, fluid and technically demanding football, on a poor or uneven pitch, you are changing the conditions of the game,” he said.
Egbe explained that inconsistent ball movement and footing can disrupt passing patterns, restrict movement and force players to expend additional energy while attempting to adjust.
“The ball behaves differently. Passing becomes difficult. Movement is restricted. Players expend more energy. Injuries become a greater concern. And the team’s ability to express its quality is compromised.”
While both Nigeria and Guinea-Bissau had to play on the same surface, Egbe’s argument centres on preparation and infrastructure rather than presenting the pitch as an excuse for defeat.
He believes Nigeria must start factoring playing conditions into its technical planning, particularly for away matches across the continent where surfaces can differ considerably from those encountered by Europe-based internationals every week.
“The pitch is not a neutral factor. It is part of the team,” Egbe maintained.
“If Nigeria wants the Super Eagles to consistently perform at their best in Africa, we must start treating pitch quality as a strategic football issue, not an excuse after the match.”
For Egbe, therefore, the post-mortem from Bissau should extend beyond Eric Chelle’s tactics and the performances of his players.
“Stop blaming the players and coaches for everything,” he concluded. “Sometimes, the 12th player needs to answer questions too.”
