A few fans were on ground to welcome Nigeria’s Super Eagles when they arrived the country in the wee hours of Tuesday morning. The Eagles who finished runners up at the just concluded AFCON held in Cote d’Ivoire touched down the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport at about 12:45am to a warm reception by a few fans, the media and airport authorities.
A Silver medal is the best the Super Eagles have gotten since they last lifted the AFCON trophy eleven years ago in 2013.
Since then, the team failed to qualify in 2015 and 2017, won the bronze in 2019 and crashed out in the second round 2021.
Although not much was expected due to poor preparations, the team put up a good show and only fell to host team, the Elephants of Cote d’ Ivoire in the final.
However, on their way to the final, the Super Eagles lifted hearts, put smiles on faces and inspired many.
Despite these, only a few fans were on ground to greet the eagles upon arrival.
The side’s coach Jose Peseiro said his players deserve commendations for the performances they put up.
On-field captain Williams Trost-Ekong emerged the best player of the tournament and dedicated the award to his teammates.
Goalkeeper Stanley Nwabili expressed his wish that the whole team be given credit despite his outstanding performances.
For Alex Iwobi who has been the subject of bullying on social media, he kept a bent head, not wanting to speak to the cameras. He just wanted to be left alone.
Reports are that the midfielder might be contemplating his future with the team.
Iwobi had hours earlier deleted all pictures of him in a Nigerian jersey on his social media accounts.
Meanwhile, skipper Ahmed Musa has risen to Iwobi’s defence and that of members of the team who were bullied on social media over personal performances. He says football is a team sport and no individual should be singled out for condemnation.
President of the Nigeria Football Federation John Enoh said he’s grateful for the support received by the team and said the future is bright.
With the next AFCON scheduled for 2024 in Morocco and the qualifiers beginning in the summer, the expectation will be to enjoy whatever spoils come with the performance in Cote d’Ivoire and use it as a springboard for a title challenge in Morocco.
Ferdinand Onuoha
Follow us on:
