Can Nigeria’s defeat to Costa Rica be seen as a reflection of their poor run of form? Find out here.
The African Cup of Nations, more commonly referred to as AFCON, is the primary men’s football tournament in Africa. It has been held every two years since its inception in 1957, with the tournament sanctioned by the Confederation of African Football.
With the 2022 Qatar World Cup just weeks away, national teams across the globe are readying themselves to take part in football’s most prestigious event. There are some notable absences, however, Italy are missing out on their second consecutive tournament, while Nigeria also failed to qualify. Nigeria, who also didn’t perform particularly well in AFCON, played Costa Rica in a friendly last month. Let’s look at how this game can be seen as a reflection of AFCON and Nigeria’s performance overall.
Costa Rica vs Nigeria
Costa Rica hosted Nigeria at home in San Jose on 10 November for an international friendly match. After a tetchy opening few minutes, Al-Wehda centre back Oscar Duarte opened the scoring with a seventh minute goal. The goal came from a set piece where forward Joel Campbell floated a beautiful ball into the box, leaving Duarte to toe poke it beyond the reach of Nigerian keeper Kayode Iyanu Bankole.
Duarte was replaced by defender Kendall Watson at the half time interval, with Watson going on to net Costa Rica’s second of the game. Campbell again showed his skills to provide the assist, slipping past the Nigerian defence to dig out a cross that Watson met with his head to double Costa Rica’s lead.
The Nigerian keeper was hooked shortly after and replaced with Nathanial Nwosu. While they didn’t concede any more goals, they didn’t create much of anything either, and Costa Rica saw out the game with ease to secure a well-deserved victory.
In fairness to Nigeria, they fielded a young side. However, the defeat came after a string of disappointing results that have left fans concerned about the direction of the team. The result comes as Nigeria’s sixth game on the bounce without a victory. They’ve lost to Algeria, Mexico, and Ecuador, and drew twice with Ghana which resulted in them missing a world cup spot.
Their form leaves much to be desired, with the recent defeat emblematic of their poor performances, particularly at AFCON.
Nigeria At AFCON
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AFCON is the biggest sporting event in Africa, with millions watching on the continent and across the globe. National teams strive to do their very best, with fans desperate to see their country’s side lift the title.
Nigeria got off to a flying start in the group, beating tournament favourite Egypt 1 – 0, Sudan 3 -1, and Guinea-Bissau 2 – 0 to top their group with an unblemished record and head into the knockout stages.
Nigeria vs Tunisia
Nigeria drew Ghana in the first game of the knockout stages. Pundits predicted this would prove to be an easy task for the group D winners, Tunisia had edged into the knockout stages despite coming third in their group. To tip the scales even more in Nigeria’s favour, Tunisia were a side crippled by injury and had seven key players missing.
Tunisia defended resolutely for the opening half before captain Youssef Msakni drilled a low shot into the net just two minutes into the second half. Nigeria’s evening only got worse, with Alex Iobi shown a red card in the 66th minute, just seven minutes after coming on as a substitute.
Tunisia’s grit and tenacity proved too much for Nigeria to overcome. The game finished with Tunisia one goal up and put an unexpected stop to Nigeria’s trophy dreams.
World Cup Qualification
Nigeria’s woes continued. They failed to qualify for the upcoming world cup after being held to a 1 – 1 draw at home to Ghana. The Jollof derby was a tense affair and ended in significant fan violence and disorder as the Nigeria supporters reacted to their team’s sub-par performance.
Conclusion
The defeat to Costa Rica can be seen as a reflection of Nigeria’s run of form, they capitulated after a positive start at AFON and made a dismal attempt at world cup qualification. They have a friendly against Portugal coming up, which could prove perilous given Nigeria’s fragile state.