Why Super Eagles may not qualify for World Cup despite 1-1 draw

Nigeria vs Cape Verde: Nigerians squirmed for 90 minutes on Tuesday evening as their national team drew 1-1 with Cape Verde in their final 2022 World Cup qualifying match.

The result was sufficient to qualify the Super Eagles for the playoffs in March 2022.

But it wasn’t enough to inspire fans and critics alike.

Nigeria vs Cape Verde: Why Super Eagles may not qualify for World Cup despite 1-1 draw
Nigeria vs Cape Verde: Why Super Eagles may not qualify for World Cup despite 1-1 draw

The three-time African champions have battled against so-called minnows in their last two qualifiers at Teslim Balogun Stadium.

They were humiliated by Central African Republic before just scraping past Cape Verde.

In the playoffs, they will come up against one of Senegal, Morocco, Egypt, Algeria, Ghana, Mali, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

These are proper African heavyweights. And there are only five tickets up for grabs.

With the quality of coaching from Gernot Rohr, it shouldn’t be a rude shock if the Eagles falter.

Rohr has continuously flattered to deceive. His tactical blueprint is unclear and his in-game management leaves a lot to be desired.

Nigeria have consistently failed to dominate smaller teams and impose their game. What makes you think they can pull that off against Mo Salah and co? Or Algeria with Mahrez and friends?

This is the question the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) should be brooding over in the next weeks.

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