The question many football loving-fans were asking before the match between Nigeria and Algeria was: can the Super Eagles go through this tough handler-tie as they face the Desert Warriors, who had also won all their group stage matches with nine (9) maximum points in the quarter-finals crunch encounter? Pundits and football loving fans were of the view that when it comes to tactical discipline, current form, character, and player flair, the Super Eagles come nowhere near the Algerian team, but the Nigerians who were the underdog proved their critics wrong to send a strong signal to the whole world that they went to sleep and they have woken up and are ‘‘ poised for action and not only to make up numbers’’ but to clinch the title for the fourth time.
The Desert Warriors in their last encounter with the Super Eagles in the quarter-finals knocked them out with a superb free kick from Riyad Mahrez, and the Algerians had relied on their past victory against the Super Eagles to the extent that their captain, before the match, was seen in a video reminding the Nigeria on how his free kick sent them back to their country, and this time round they thought they were going to bury them alive. But for the Nigerians, they believed in one thing that is talk they say is cheap but it is the pitch that will decide and then also he who fights and runs away lives to fight another day is what they had at the back of their minds: this match is the greatest opportunity to take a revenge to call of their bluff. Right from the blast of the referee’s whistle for the commencement of the game you could see that the Nigerians are determined to show the Algerians they are in for a match of their lives.
The Super Eagles exhibited a splendid performance in the game to tame the Algerians as they took control of the midfield, which is the engine room of every good team, outplaying the Desert Warriors by keeping possession, pinning them in their own half and giving them no breathing space as most of the game took place in the Algerian half. Their total dominance in the game unsettled the Algerians and made them looked like they were not prepared for the match. After the match had ended in the 2nd half with no goal to either side Victor Oshimhen was virtually unmarked in the six yard box converted a pinpoint cross from Bruno Onyemaechi to open the score for the Super Eagles. Super Eagles went on to score their 14th goal of the tournament when their midfield Marshal Alex Iwobi unlocked the Algerian defence to lay a perfect pass to Victor Oshimhen who found Akor Adams in a better position to score unselfishly squared for him to score Nigeria’s second goal.
The Super Eagles fought like a wounded lion and a soldier on a battle field to teach the Algerians a lesson of their lives and I strongly believe that this sweet and well deserved victory by the Nigerians will take the Desert Warriors to a point of no return. The result has also proven beyond all reasonable doubt that Super Eagles is a force to reckon with when it comes to the round leather ball. The team could have buried the Algerians if they had taken their chances. Nigerians all over the world were eagerly looking for this sweet revenge and have now got it. Majority of the Super Eagles fans had lost hope in the team after they failed to qualify to the 2026 World Cup. Now they need no prophet to come and tell them that there are better things ahead of the team and things will get worse before it gets better. With little patience the team will get to the promise land.
I must say that I was highly impressed with the performance of the team as they played under no pressure from the start to finish and they were cautious of not attracting unnecessary card that could lead them to numerical disadvantage and also played to the whistle of the referee. In football, there are three results that a team will get after a match is played that is win, draw or loose and for that matter there was no need for the Algerians to attack the officials after the match. I would have loved to see the Algerians accepting defeat in good faith and give the credit to their opponents since they were the better side on the day and they deserve to win. In as much as I condemn the Algerians on their unscientific behaviour towards the match officials on the day, I will at this juncture wish them better luck next time and wish that they will go to the drawing board and correct their mistakes and come back strongly in the next Afcon for ‘‘the owner’s the chopper not the hungry one’’. Keep it up Super Eagles and don’t relax at all for the sky will be your limit. The team will forever remain the Giant of Africa and the best team in Africa.
