The current five African champions went into the world cup with the right
frame of mind though and looking to earn a win which they last earned in the
2002 world Cup. There was a lot of mixed feelings emanating from the fans
corner as they went into the tournament as Keshi selected just five midfielders
and this move by coach Stephen Keshi received a lot of criticisms though some
were optimistic that he could make it happen following his feat in the
(AFCON) African Cup of Nations and their impressive show at CHAN even though they
earned a loss to Ghana in the quarter-finals on penalties after the 90 minutes
duration ended 0-0.The squad consisted of names like: Vincent Enyeama, Osaze Odemwingie, Shola Ameobi, Joseph Yobo, Omeruo, Gabriel Reuben, Ahmed Musa, Emmanuel Emenike, Ramon Azeez, Ogbenyi Onazi and the likes but there were a lot of frown at the absence of names like Kalu Uche, Sunday Mba and the rest Sunday Mba most especially for his show at the 2013 AFCON.
The Super Eagles started on in a lacklustre fashion with a 0-0 draw against Iran a lot of fans attributed the draw to the defensive formation put in place by Gaffer Stephen Keshi as the midfield lack creativity making attacking moves very limited as they tended to play well in their half but, had problems getting the ball into the opponent’s 18 yard box, they picked themselves up against Bosnia-Herzegovina who were rookies in the tournament and they earned a 1-0 win courtesy of an Odemwingie strike though the game was not an easy one as the Bosnia’s gave the Eagles a run for their money with Edin Dzeko’s strike that hit the cross bar and a few other eye catching attempts. There was something bothering a lot of people and this was the inability of the strikers to score though Emenike only featured as a top 9 in the first game of the competition.
The all anticipated game between Nigeria and Argentina came and Nigeria rose up to the challenge Argentina scored first courtesy of a Messi rebound on the 4th minute which Nigeria immediately replied through an Ahmed Musa equalizer at the 5th minute. The second goal came at the end of the first half through Lionel Messi earning him a brace, not too long after the commencement of the second half parity was restored through an Ahmed Musa Curling effort. The game went on looking like it was going to end as a draw only for Marcos Rojo the grab the winner for Argentina late into the second half but still Nigeria qualified due to a 3-1 defeat of Iran by Bosnia which meant both teams were evicted from the tournament.
Hopes were heightened as Nigeria’s knockout round opponent were to be announced and it turned out to be France, the Les Bleus came into the tournament with Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery and Manchester city attacking midfielder Samir Nasri not being in the ranks Ribery due to injury and Nasri due to rift with the gaffer Didier Deschamps. A lot of the Super Eagles fans had concluded that it was going to be a Nigeria game judging from their show against Argentina.
The game was played on Monday at 5:00pm the game started with high hopes following a 5th minute Emenike strike which was ruled out as an offside. Later in the game an Odemwingie strike in the second half was punched away by the save hands of Hugo Lloris. Emenike also stroke wide on two other occasions, Oshaniwa also made an attempt to get a goal but failed. Onazi got an injury courtesy of a rough tackle by Matuidi which a lot of fans felt was worth a red card. This saw Gabriel Reuben being introduced into the game though his impact was never in the game by the 70th minute the Super Eagles were beginning to play in a lacklustre fashion and in the 78th minute the Les Bleus got their goal courtesy of a header by an unmarked Paul Pogba following a Mathieu Valbuena cross resulting from a freekick. In the additional time Joseph Yobo scored an own-goal to make it two for France and that was how the game ended and this ended Nigeria's participation in the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Ganiyu
Ridwan Ayobami
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