The simple answer is yes. We should be worried. Very worried. But let’s delve deeper into why, shall we? Eleven years have passed since the late Stephen Keshi steered the Super Eagles to AFCON glory in South Africa. Having failed to qualify for the previous edition in 2012, there was little optimism for the Super Eagles heading into 2013. However, Keshi defied the odds as Nigeria won its 3rd AFCON title. In the process, Stephen Keshi - who captained the Super Eagles in their 1994 title winning campaign - became only the second person to win the AFCON both as a player and Head Coach since Egypt’s Mahmoud El-Gohary won it in 1959 (as a player) and 1998. Since the victory in 2013, it’s been downhill for the Super Eagles of Nigeria. They failed to qualify for both the 2015 and 2017 editions of the AFCON, finished in a respectable 3rd place in 2019 and, in the 2021 edition, got knocked out of the Round of 16 despite showing a lot of early promise with a 100% win rate in the group stage. Outside the continent, they’ve equally regressed. They exited the 2014 FIFA World Cup in the Round of 16, failed to make it out of the group stage in Russia 2018 and did not qualify for the 2022 edition in Qatar. Ahead of the 2023 AFCON, the Super Eagles’ faithful are caught between optimism and pessimism. Under Head Coach José Peseiro, the team’s overall performance has been far from convincing, with only 6 victories in the 14 games he has overseen, raising more questions than answers. Despite concerns about the team’s overall display, Nigeria’s current attacking arsenal has been a source of hope. A few weeks ago, it was announced that Taiwo Awoniyi would be out of action for three months, automatically ruling him out of the AFCON. Awoniyi is an established striker who has scored a respectable 35 goals over the last 82 games at club level. Yet, when his absence was announced, it elicited little sadness among Nigerians because of the team’s depth in the attacking department. Upfront, they have Terem Moffi who is leading Nice’s charge for Champions League qualification, Victor Boniface who leads the high-flying Bayer Leverkusen in both goals and assists, the trio of Kelechi Iheanacho, Ademola Lookman and Samuel Chukwueze who are experienced starters at club level, and of course, they have Victor Osimhen - the 24-year-old who ended Napoli’s 33-year wait for a Scudetto and Nigeria’s 24-year wait for the African Player of the Year (Men) award. Osimhen finished as top scorer in the AFCON qualifiers with 10 goals and one of our betting tips today is for him to win the golden boot at the tournament, and BetKing, the best betting site in Nigeria, has the best odds for this among all betting sites. Sadly for the Super Eagles, that’s where the good news ends.
The Super Eagles face a significant challenge with a clear squad imbalance. While the national team boasts abundant attacking talent, there are notable deficiencies in the midfield, defense, and goalkeeping positions. The scarcity of quality midfielders raises concerns about providing adequate service to the prolific strikers, potentially limiting their goal-scoring opportunities. To address this issue, Head Coach José Peseiro has experimented with various formations, ranging from the traditional 4-4-2 to a 4-3-3 setup and even a 4-2-4 arrangement aimed at capitalizing on the surplus of attacking power. Unfortunately, none of these formations have come close to yielding the desired results, particularly against top-tier opponents. The Super Eagles’ defensive performance has been equally disappointing, with only 2 clean sheets in their last 11 games, raising concerns as they approach a tournament that emphasizes a solid back-line. [As highlighted in this analysis,](https://m.betking.com/blog/betting-tips/afcon-2024-analytics/) there is a decline in the goals per game ratio over the last 8 editions of the AFCON. This ratio has steadily dropped from 3.09 goals per game in Ghana 2008 to 1.92 goals per game in Cameroon 2021. In simpler terms, this statistic underscores the increasing significance of defense over attack at the AFCON. Given Nigeria’s shortcomings in the defensive department, navigating the knockout stages of the tournament could pose a significant challenge, but they’re expected to safely make it out of the group.
In the goalkeeping department, Nigeria has, perhaps, its biggest worry. During former Head Coach Gernot Rohr’s tenure, Francis Uzoho started 51.52% of matches for which he was in the squad. Under Peseiro, he has been a constant starter, featuring in 100% of matches, excluding the unofficial first Algeria friendly. The more alarming aspect for the Super Eagles is that Uzoho is the third-choice goalkeeper for Omonia Nikosia, and has been limited to just 4 club appearances this season. Peseiro’s realization that his goal-keeping department has a major issue has come 12-months late. In the past month, he travelled to South Africa to scout Stanley Nwabali, Chippa United’s goalie, viewed as an upgrade over Uzoho. The 27-year-old has kept 8 clean sheets in 17 games for the South African side. Alongside Stanley Nwabali and Francis Uzoho, the 40-man provisional squad includes 4 other goalkeepers, with 3 of them playing in the NPFL. The recent eleventh-hour attempts to rectify the goalkeeping situation, a mere three weeks before the tournament, exude nothing but chaos and incompetence. So, should we be worried about the Super Eagles? Yes. We should be. The team drew both of their recent World Cup qualifier matches, placing them at an early disadvantage and necessitating near perfection to secure a spot at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. José Peseiro’s coaching tenure has been nothing but woeful, and the only reason he still has a job is the financial constraints associated with his severance package. With his contract set to expire after the AFCON, the likelihood of his retention is slim. Despite the challenges and uncertainties surrounding the Super Eagles and the unlikelihood of triumph at the AFCON, the high odds make it a potentially worthwhile calculated risk for our online sports betting community.
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