Football enthusiasts in Bauchi are earnestly calling on the Super Eagles to elevate their performance as they progress into the round of 16 in the ongoing African Cup of Nations (AFCON). The recent victory against Guinea Bissau, secured with a lone goal at the Stade Felix Houphouet Boigny in Abidjan, guaranteed the Eagles a spot in the tournament’s next round.
Reflecting on the match, some football fans shared their sentiments in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Bauchi on Tuesday, emphasizing the need for the Eagles to enhance their overall performance to successfully navigate through the round of 16 and into the quarterfinals.
Mr. Umar Saidu, Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Bauchi Council, expressed gratitude for the team’s qualification but highlighted missed scoring opportunities and a lack of aggressiveness in attempting to score. He urged the team to improve, recognizing that there are no minnow countries in football, and surprises have been witnessed in this Nations Cup with so-called big teams being shocked.
Saidu remarked, “It was a good match, we thank God that we qualified for the next knockout stages, but we missed a lot of scoring chances. Also, the aggressiveness of the players in trying to score was lacking; they need to improve if we really want to zoom into the quarter-final.”
Another football enthusiast, Mr. Ishola Michael, praised the Super Eagles for securing the victory against Guinea Bissau but expressed concerns about the overall performance. While acknowledging the team’s success, he noted that the attack was not sharp enough, emphasizing the need for improvement in that aspect. Michael commented, “Though Super Eagles won the match, it was not impressive enough. If we must progress to the next stage of the tournament, something must be done about the attack. Super Eagles won by luck.”
