Super Eagles like to disappoint their fans

On Wednesday night, the Super Eagles of Nigeria again showed how terrible they can perform from the spot when they lost 2-4 on penalties to the Atlas Lions of Morocco in the second semi-final match of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), thereby bringing to a painful end their chase for a fourth continental […]

On Wednesday night, the Super Eagles of Nigeria again showed how terrible they can perform from the spot when they lost 2-4 on penalties to the Atlas Lions of Morocco in the second semi-final match of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), thereby bringing to a painful end their chase for a fourth continental title.

Indeed, it reminded Nigerians of how, two months ago, the Super Eagles fell at the hurdle of penalty kicks and missed the opportunity to continue their pursuit of the 2026 FIFA World Cup ticket. After playing a 1-1 draw with the Democratic Republic of Congo in the final of the CAF playoff in Morocco, the Super Eagles performed abysmally in the shootout that ensued, losing 3-4 to the Congolese. Before the latest heartbreak, Nigerians were still struggling to recover that painful experience on November 16, 2025.

Expectedly, Nigerian football fans are reacting to the loss to Morocco the way they normally do anytime they are let down by their team. The disappointed fans are generously blaming the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for giving them a referee from not only a neighbouring country but a rival nation to officiate the all-important match.

The moment Ghana’s Daniel Nii Laryea was appointed to officiate the match, most Nigerians expressed apprehension as they reasoned that apart from the existing football rivalry between Nigeria and his country, he might want to prove his impartiality, a development they believed would ultimately favour the host nation. As predicted by most of the fans, in the course of the match, Laryea made some questionable decisions, which proved that the suspicion of the fans wasn’t unfounded.

Surely, Nigerians will forever blame the Ghanaian referee for this particular defeat. In fact, some of them in satirical articles wrote that he actually had a good game, meaning he had accomplished his assignment – to ensure the Atlas Lions reached the final. Personally, I don’t subscribe to the idea of putting the whole blame for a team’s loss on the referee. Did the Eagles score a good goal that was disallowed?

However, some of the fans who do not want to know that there is a limit to how the NFF can challenge CAF are insisting that the football federation should have protested the decision to pick a referee from a rival country to officiate the match. I doubt very much if there was anything the NFF would have done to avert the imminent danger. The football federation has little or no power when it comes to the selection of referees by CAF for its matches.

Apart from the alleged biased officiating, the fans are blaming Coach Eric Chelle and his players for faltering at the critical moment. They are of the opinion that the Super Eagles over respected the Atlas Lions, which was why they deployed a defensive approach, which contrasted sharply with the offensive play that had made them a dreaded side in their previous matches.

 Anyway, the blame game is not going to end anytime soon. However, I also feel that those who are deeply hurt by the loss should have seen the writing on the wall and lowered their expectations. There is no wisdom in investing so much emotions in a team that is highly unpredictable. In most cases, people struggle to overcome setbacks because they have raised their expectations.

Although pained by the latest mishap, I am not too disappointed because the Super Eagles actually surpassed my expectations. Considering how badly they struggled in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers before eventually crashing out, only a few people gave them any chance of reaching the semi-finals in Morocco.

In fact, even when they won their opening match against Tanzania, they weren’t convincing. It was when they defeated Tunisia that many people began to take them seriously. They then capped up their impeccable group stage outing with dominant performances against Mozambique and Algeria, thereby raising a false hope of another memorable moment at the AFCON.

However, some of us exercised cautious optimism because the Super Eagles had only improved on their performance; they were not exceptional. The possibility that they would falter against a more organised team was evident, even as they managed to stay unbeaten. Therefore, when the Eagles set up the semi-final clash with the continent’s best national team, many of us didn’t need Daniel to understand the writing on the wall.

Against the number one team in Africa, the Super Eagles literally struggled to keep pace with their opponents. Right from the blast of the first whistle, it was obvious that the Lions would carry the day because they had everything going for them. Apart from their immensely talented squad, Morocco enjoyed everything home advantage can offer – the weather, officiating, and most importantly, the 12th man in the stands. There was no way out for the boys of Chelle.

Therefore, the Super Eagles should be commended for putting up that resistance for 120 minutes. Players like Semi Ajayi, Bruno Onyemachi, who eventually lost his penalty kick; Raphael Onyedika and Akor Adams, showed nerves nuy Calvin Bassey, Alex Iwobi, Frank Onyeka and Captain Victor Osimhen did their best to maintain the team’s dignity. They ensured that the Super Eagles were not disgraced, even as defeat loomed.

At one point, some of us concluded that it was better not to reach the final because the Super Eagles squad we were watching wasn’t the same as the one that dismantled Algeria. Moreover, our only dependable defender, Bassey, was going to miss the final, leaving many of fans to wonder out loud who would save the Eagles against the rampaging Lions of Teranga.

Well, all is not lost, for there is one final match to be played against the Pharaohs of Egypt tonight. Historically, anytime the Super Eagles cross the quarter-finals at the AFCON, they hardly return home empty handed. It is, therefore, expected that they would still approach the losers’ final with all seriousness in order to bring home a consolation medal.

So, even as the third place match is equally important, Chelle should give other players the opportunity to exhibit what they would have contributed to the team, if they were given the chance to play in the other matches.

Players like Usman Mohammed, Salim Fago Lawal, Ebenezer Akinsanmiro, and Amos Obasogie are yet to play for even a second. The situation of other debutants like Ryan Alebiosu, Tockukwu Nnadi, and Igoh Ogbu is better. At least, they were given a few minutes to play. Therefore, it will be good to feature some of these youngsters against Egypt for us to see if they could be a part of the new Super Eagles that most Nigerians are now clamouring for.

On this note, I say, weep not, Super Eagles fans, for your over-hyped players offered only what they have. No one gives what he does not have. Moreover, it would have been completely unfair for your team to reach the final at the expense of Morocco, who didn’t only play better but have invested heavily in hosting one of the most glamorous editions of the AFCON.