An ominous question is rolling through various football circles in Nigeria, as observers begin to ask if the country’s inability to qualify for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations will be repeated next year, Sports247 reports.
The rhetorical question is recurring due to the Super Eagles’ shock 3-0 loss away to Guinea-Bissau in their second match of the 2027 AFCON qualifiers, which revived memories of a similar set back 12 years ago.
Tuesday’s heavy defeat in Bissau brought back agonising memories of September 6th, 2014, when Congo Republic stunned the Super Eagles 3-2 at U.J. Esuene Stadium in Calabar and Nigeria subsequently failed to qualify for the 2015 AFCON in Equatorial Guinea.
The Eagles ultimately finished third in their qualifying group and failed to defend the title they had won two years earlier in South Africa, under the guidance of former national team captain and reliable defender, late Stephen Okechukwu Keshi (The Big Boss).
Sequel to Tuesday’s game at September 24 Stadium, Guinea-Bissau now lead Group L with six points and a goal difference of +5, while Nigeria sit second with three points and -2 goal difference, which makes it imperative that the Super Eagles must win all their remaining four matches.
However, aside from winning all the matches, the Eagles must beat Guinea-Bissau 4-0 during their last game in March 2027 to edge The Wild Dogs on head-to-head rules, while also noting that only one country will qualify from their group, because Tanzania are already in as co-hosts.
Consequently, the possibility of history repeating itself, with another failed qualification for AFCON ensuing at the end of the ongoing qualifiers, has now become an issue for heated debate in many football circles, publications and social media platforms.
Tribal Football’s Shina Oludare recalled with a post on his X handle @sportingshina: “The last time the Super Eagles conceded three goals against African opposition was 12 years ago.
“(It was) on September 6, 2014, when they suffered a shock 3-2 home defeat to Congo in an AFCON qualifier. Nigeria subsequently failed to qualify for AFCON 2015. Will history repeat itself?”
Sports247 reports further that, heading into MatchDay 3, Guinea-Bissau have six points, having started with a 2-0 victory away to co-hosts Tanzania, while Nigeria had an unconvincing 2-1 comeback win against Madagascar in Uyo, which cast further doubt about their ability to rise from the abyss.
The fear among many critical Nigerians now is that the Eagles will suffer a repeat of the damaging home draws they had with Lesotho, South Africa and Zimbabwe in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers; which ultimately knocked them out.
Although the Eagles’ last match of the 2027 AFCON qualifiers will be at home against Guinea-Bissau in March, many Nigerians already doubt their team’s ability to win that fixture, which would be very decisive in their quest for a ticket to the tournament.
