With every match (friendly or competitive) serving to show how Nigeria’s march to greatness is going, the outcome of yesterday’s game against Cameroon told its own story.
The Indomitable Lions ran away 1:0 winners in a match both sides were eager to win. The 5 points below tell us how far the Super Eagles have come since Afcon 2019:
1) Nigeria have won only 4 out of 11 games since emerging bronze medalists from Afcon 2019. This equates to a 36% win ratio and clearly at odds with what one would expect from a team on the rise.
2) Since Afcon 2019, the Super Eagles have not defeated a top tier African nation. Games against Algeria, Tunisia and now Cameroon ended in 2 losses and 1 draw.
3) Games against non-African oppositions have ended in draws. With the game against Mexico coming up in July, a draw or a loss seems a more likely outcome at the moment. A win for Nigeria will surely be welcomed by me though recent results make this seem unlikely.
4) Familiar foes are now taking their pounds of Nigerian flesh. Algeria and now Cameroon have avenged losses they suffered in the hands of Rohr earlier in the German’s reign. Is he becoming too predictable to oppositions?
5) Nigeria have scored 18 goals and have conceded 13 from 11 games post-2019 Afcon. Whilst we are hitting home , we are also shipping in (in double digits).
The Super Eagles are a collection of exciting players with a disciplined and experienced coach. The question is: what are the results of matches post-2019 Afcon telling us about how far the Super Eagles have come?
I leave that for others to answer.