Former Super Eagles midfielder, Mutiu Adepoju, has warned that Nigeria could turn their Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying campaign into a battle of “calculators” following their 3-0 defeat to Guinea-Bissau.
The Super Eagles suffered a heavy defeat in Bissau on Tuesday, four days after coming from behind to beat Madagascar 2-1 in Uyo.
The result left Guinea-Bissau top of Group L with six points from two matches, while Nigeria have three points. Tanzania, one of the co-hosts of the 2027 AFCON, are already guaranteed a place at the tournament, leaving the remaining teams to fight for the available qualifying spot.
Adepoju said Nigeria’s poor performance could put unnecessary pressure on the team in the remaining matches.
“It was a very bad game, we didn’t play very well. It is not too good for us because at the end of the day, we will be looking for calculators to calculate this team wins which is not supposed to be,” Adepoju told ANS.
The former Real Madrid midfielder also rejected the idea that Victor Osimhen’s absence was solely responsible for the defeat.
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Osimhen missed both of Nigeria’s opening AFCON qualifiers because of a thigh injury.
“There are many factors but what about the attitude of the players? If the players are not putting everything possible on the field, even if the coach has a fault, the players know how they have been playing in their various clubs and what is at stake,” Adepoju said.
“I am not going to put the blame on one person but the team entirely.”
Adepoju, who represented Nigeria at three World Cup finals — USA 1994, France 1998 and Korea/Japan 2002 — questioned the logic of attributing the defeat to Osimhen’s absence.
“Osimhen is a striker, probably if they play and there are no mistakes in the defence. But we conceded three goals, is it Osimhen that is going to come and defend? The team entirely have fault not because somebody is not there.
“If Osimhen is there and the team is not playing well, if he doesn’t get the passes, how is he going to score? I would rather think of the whole team entirely. If one person is missing, there are other players that are there to take up,” the 1994 AFCON winner added.
Nigeria will have four more Group L matches to recover from the defeat, including two fixtures against Tanzania in November and return matches against Guinea-Bissau and Madagascar in March 2027.
