Coach Oyebande Babatunde Adeshina, Leader of the Ikeja Football Coaches Council and a CWC member in Lagos State, has urged football fans not to draw sweeping conclusions from Nigeria’s 2-1 defeat to Portugal or DR Congo’s draw against the same opposition, insisting that the circumstances surrounding both matches were significantly different.
Speaking in an interview with Sports247, Adeshina explained that Nigeria approached the friendly with an experimental squad, using the fixture as an opportunity to assess players and build for the future rather than focusing solely on the result.
According to the experienced coach, DR Congo fielded a more settled and better-prepared team, which contributed to their ability to earn a point against Portugal. Even then, he suggested that the Congolese side benefitted from a measure of fortune to avoid defeat.
“Nigeria lost to Portugal with an experimenting team, while DR Congo played with their overall squad and were well prepared. They were also fortunate to come away without losing,” Adeshina said.
Addressing comparisons between the two African nations, he maintained that the Super Eagles possess a stronger and more tactically balanced side but cautioned against judging teams based on isolated fixtures.
“Nigeria has a more tactically balanced squad compared to DR Congo, but two matches can never be exactly the same. Different circumstances produce different outcomes,” he explained.
Adeshina also dismissed any suggestion that Nigeria underestimated Portugal, emphasizing that the coaching staff deliberately used the encounter to evaluate personnel and tactical options.
“We didn’t and couldn’t have underestimated Portugal. The match was an opportunity to test some players as part of the team-building process,” he noted.
On whether friendly matches accurately reflect a team’s quality and preparedness, the coach argued that much depends on the objective of the fixture. Some teams use friendlies to experiment with formations or integrate new players, while others prioritize results.
He concluded by reiterating his belief that Nigeria remains ahead of DR Congo in overall quality, stressing that individual brilliance and tactical execution on a given day can influence results without necessarily changing the broader assessment of a team’s strength.
