• Adeyinka Akintunde

THE home-based Super Eagles of Nigeria face Libya at the Stade Ibn Batouta, Tangier, Friday, January 19, in a match Nigerians dubbed ‘must win,’ if Eagles must progress to the knockout stage of the African Nations Championship, CHAN.

Libya had beaten Equatorial Guinea 3-0 in the first group match on Monday, January 15, while the Nigerian team drew 0-0 against Rwanda, after missing a lot of goal-scoring opportunities.

Hence, a draw or a loss for Nigeria against the Mediterranean Knights, a country known in recent times to have turned fellow African citizens to slaves, will see Nigerian football faithful return to the calculator, to map out the chances of qualifying.

This would be disappointing for Nigerian football lovers, judging from the easy passage to the 2018 FIFA World Cup the West African side recorded, which brought joy to Nigerians. It is, therefore, incumbent on the headache of the technical crew, led by Salisu Yusuf the coach, to secure victory against the “African slave masters” as further wastages as witnessed in the first match against the Amavubis could spell doom.

Morocco, Sudan, Zambia and Namibia are already looking forward to the quarter-finals of the competition after doing the needful earning six points in two matches they have played so far, in their groups. It, therefore, means that the third match for these teams will only be a formality, and to determine who tops their respective groups and who become their runners-up.

Congo, securing a victory against Burkina Faso in Agadir on Saturday, will seal its place in the next round, as it has already defeated Cameroon 1-0 in the first match. Anything contrary leaves Group D open until the last day, the same situation Nigeria currently faces in group C.

Nigerians have not forgotten the disappointment they suffered in 2016, when the then Sunday Oliseh-led CHAN Eagles crashed out at the group stage. A repeat of that scenario in 2018 would be unpalatable. Avoiding such a repeat performance begins with victory over Libya, today!

–   Jan.  16, 2018 @ 17:05 GMT