Despite a bad preparation campaign, an opening defeat and the expulsion of three players, Nigeria is still in a good position to reach the quarterfinals of the African Cup of Nations on Wednesday.
If the Super Eagles beat already-eliminated Benin by two goals, the likes of Jay-Jay Okocha and Nwankwo Kanu will continue in the tournament they last won in Tunisia 10 years ago. Morocco is still in pole position to advance and only needs a draw against South Africa to win Group D.
South Africa may find it tough to rebound from a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Nigeria and upset a well-organised Moroccan defence led by standout Noureddine Naybet.
”We are not finished yet,” said Jabu Pule, a South African midfielder who plays for Kaizer Chiefs. ”You never know, Benin can also beat Nigeria.”
The qualifiers will play the top two teams in Group C, which includes defending champion Cameroon, Algeria and Egypt, next weekend.
The win over South Africa last week revitalised Nigeria, and the expulsion of defender Celestine Babayaro of Chelsea, striker Victor Agali of Schalke and Portsmouth striker Yakubu Ayegbeni for indiscipline has put the team in a new mindset.
”There were problems but they have strengthened us,” Nigeria midfielder Oluwaseyi Olofintana said.
First, there was chaos surrounding the coaching position before former captain Christian Chukwu stepped in. Then several stars showed late for training camp. Creating more chaos were an opening loss and the sendings home.
Now, things are starting to look up.
”We will be going from strength to strength,” said Olofintana of Norway’s Brann Bergen.
The main task of the coach now will be to keep the team concentrated ahead of a game against the weakest opponent of the tournament, ranked only 123rd in the world, and already demoralised by two losses.
The 4-0 loss to Morocco, highlighted by stunning defensive lapses, must have hurt.
For Morocco, it was the second success in a row after the opening upset of Nigeria. On top of a tight defence, Morocco also proved it could score. — Sapa-AP