I was anxious. I was more than usually nervous but I realised I had to control it. I quickly switched off my thought from football and created a new thought with my eyes closed sitting in front of a television.
I was able to bring down the blood pressure, now waiting to see how the Super Eagles would beat the Elephant of Cote d’Ivoire and win the AFCON for the fourth time.
For me, Cote D’Ivoire had no enough quality to beat Nigeria. Even when the game began and the Elephants mounted pressure on the Super Eagles, I was not disturbed because everything looked like a gameplan to me.
And when Williams Troost-Ekong nodded the first goal in, I refused to jubilate with friends who came to see the match with me.
I was waiting for more goals from the Super Eagles until the Elephants struck. It was an equaliser I never dreamt off. The second goal came lately to seal a victory for the Cote d’Ivoire.
It dawned on me that the the cup just slipped away. I left the viewing centre disappointed, however I knew something was wrong. Why did the Super Eagles play so badly on a day they were supposed to raise their game?
What happened to one of our best guys, Ola Aina, a few minutes to be crowned a champion? Why is every contact of Osimhen with the Ivorians taken as foul by the referee ? Why did the referee refuse to protect the African player of the year from Ivorians’ rough tackles?
He was elbowed, he was kicked and had no option but to warn the Ivorians from hitting him so hard and bad. There was a time the Ivorian midfielder, Fofana, fell with a blow to Osimhen’s head.
The referee looked the other way, the VAR refused to call. Coach Jose Peseiro shouted from the bench but got a yellow card in return.
Of course the Ivorians played their hearts out, their effort was helped by a referee who had initially dampened the morale of the Super Eagles.
The news now is that majority of the members of the present Nigeria’s squad are considering retirement from international assignment.
Some of them had saved their last dance till the last Sunday’s AFCON final, unfortunately they put the wrong steps forward. The dance steps were not good enough for a gold but silver.
The tactics failed them, love failed them when they needed it most. Every of their touches attracted boos from the crowd. For me, the cup they thought was theirs slipped away effortlessly.
The players performed below their level and failed to give Cote D’Ivoire the expected challenge. Overall, it wasn’t a great final but a one-sided match for the Elephants.
It redefines Jose Peseiro as a poor match reader that could only beat teams that lack creativity. I have written about this before.
Peseiro’s tactics endeared me to him but I asked, will it stand for a long time, a long victory ? No.
He got the tactics right but failed to improve on it. The tactics that made him also marred him.
First, it was South Africa that broke his tactics, using a mobile midfield to break Nigeria’s defence.
Cote d’Ivoire studied the Nigeria/South Africa match and used the same tactics to pressure the Eagles to submission.
Peseiro had no answers on the two occasions. While luck smile on us against South Africa, it laughed at us against Cote d’Ivoire.
Our solace is in our captain, Troost-Ekong, who won player of the tournament. He showed leadership in all our games but lost it in the final because he was overwhelmed.
On Sunday, that leadership was lacking. The Eagles were scattered on the field. The midfield, totally collapsed, the defence cracked. No one to pass ball to Osimhen. He was fighting alone against rough tackles, the Ivorians and their crowd.
Perhaps the players that are thinking of retirement will change their minds after the honour done to them by the Federal Government. Time will tell.