The Nigeria Super Eagles team will be one of the teams to watch out for at the upcoming AFCON 2025 tournament. Coming off the disappointment of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, the team would be hoping to prove a point when AFCON 2025 begins in December 2025.
Well, before going into this tournament, there have been several concerns raised by Nigerians that may need to be addressed. For many, these issues need to be addressed before even kicking the ball at the AFCON tournament in Morocco.
Hence, this article would be covering all the factors that may prevent Nigeria’s super eagles from going far in AFCON 2025 tournament.
Factors That May Prevent Nigeria’s Super Eagles From Going Far In AFCON 2025
Here are factors that may prevent the Nigeria Super Eagles team from progressing into the final rounds of the AFCON 2025 tournament:
1. Inexperienced Defenders
Previous AFCON tournaments have shown that to win the competition, a team would have to be defensively solid. In the AFCON 2023, the Nigeria Super Eagles team showed defensive prowess by conceding fewer than 5 goals in the whole AFCON tournament, even though they ended up in second place. However, this AFCON 2025 tournament may not be the case.
The retirement of captain William Troost Ekong would leave a huge gap to be filled in the defense for Nigeria. This is because William Troost Ekong played a huge part in the Nigerian defense line as he was the leader of the defense line.
In fact, his presence was needed in matches where they needed goals. He would contribute goals and score clutch penalty goals when he was called upon. So, there’s no doubt that his retirement would leave a huge gap to be filled in the Nigerian defense. Well, that’s not the only person who would be missed.
The problem has been made worse by the injury to Benjamin Fredrick. Benjamin Fredrick is a promising Nigerian defender who has gained prominence in the Nigeria Super Eagles squad for his calmness and ball winning ability. Before his injury, he had already won the hearts of several Nigerians who watched him. Now, he would be missing out in action at the AFCON 2025 tournament where he was to compete with the big boys of African football.
This issue of the Nigerian defense is a big issue to solve as recent AFCON history shows how costly this can be. Recall that at AFCON 2019, Nigeria’s semi-final defeat to Algeria was decided by poor defensive organisation. The late free kick scored by Riyad Mahrez exposed Nigeria’s inability to manage the defense. Also, a similar issue happened in AFCON 2021 and AFCON 2023. So, if these issues remain unaddressed, it could cost Nigeria’s chances of progressing to the final stages of the upcoming AFCON 2025.
2. Funds Mismanagement
The truth is that in African football, the issue of funds mismanagement is a critical issue that has rocked many African teams. It has become a norm to hear of players complaining of unpaid bonuses that they have rightfully earned.
Well, the Nigerian Super Eagles have had a long history of controversies when it comes to fund management and fund disbursement failures.
In the just concluded FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, this issue came to the surface again. The Super Eagles were reported to have boycotted the training sessions over unpaid bonuses by the Nigerian Football Federation. This issue caused the Super Eagles not to train for 2 days after arriving at the venue.
Now, this kind of thing could cause the team morale to be weakened and even affect the fitness of the players going into an important match.
In order to succeed in AFCON 2025, the Nigerian Football Federation must ensure that it is transparent with the payment structure of the Super Eagles players.
They should ensure that they disburse the funds early and avoid humiliation to the face of the Nigerians who would travel to Morocco for the AFCON 2025 tournament.
READ THIS: Five Young Players to Watch Out For At AFCON 2025
3. Nwabali’s Complacency
Stanley Nwabali has climbed up the ladder to become one of Nigeria’s most outstanding shot stoppers in recent times. In the AFCON 2023, he was impressive as he had several clean sheets and even saved penalties for the Nigerian Super Eagles team.
However, issues around his on-pitch behavior still raise a question mark on whether he is the ideal man for the Super Eagles team.
In the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers games, Stanley Nwabali has been noticed to display excessive time-wasting antics. These antics were noticed in games which drew a lot of criticisms towards him.
Also, he has been caught being complacent in possession. Recall that in matches against opposing teams Nwabali gifted possession several times.
You’ll agree that for the Nigeria Super Eagles team to succeed at the AFCON 2025, Nwabali must work on his game management. He is a great keeper but he needs to be aware that a nation with over 100 million people will be depending on him to be at his best whenever he wears the Nigerian jersey.
4. Eric Chelle Tactical Incapacities
Going into the tournament, Eric Chelle remains a big doubt for Nigerians. There have been questions asked about his tactical depth in leading this team into a competition as big as the AFCON competition.
The reasons for these questions are due to the fact that there haven’t been any major successes recorded by Eric Chelle in major African competitions. As a result, Nigerians are not sure whether to rest their hopes on him or to back down.
Another cause for concern major reason for Nigerians is seeing his performance at the recent FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.
In matches against South Africa and Zimbabwe, Nigeria struggled to dominate these teams convincingly. As a result, this exposed Eric Chelle’s tactical strength and has not fully earned the trust of Nigerians.
If Eric Chelle fails to prove himself on a tactical level in the AFCON 2025 tournament, it could lead to several consequences. One is that the Nigerian Super Eagles could be humiliated out of the tournament by a tactically superior team.
Along with that, he could lose his job. So, there’s a lot at stake for Eric Chelle to choose from. Surely, he would be hoping to be on the good side of Nigerians after the conclusion of the AFCON 2025 competition.
Conclusion
The Nigerian Super Eagles indeed possess the talent to win the AFCON 2025 tournament. However, in reality, winning the AFCON tournaments is beyond just having talent. Yes, a lot of things are supposed to be in place for the Nigeria Super Eagles to emerge as winners of the AFCON tournament. If the Nigerian Super Eagles fix these issues aforementioned, they could have the gold-plated trophy at the end of the competition.