The Guild of Sports Editors of Nigeria, the umbrella body of all managers of sports sections of major Nigerian newspapers and broadcast houses, has expressed shock over Super Eagles’ poor outing in a Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifier against Central African Republic.
The body described the loss as emotional torture, adding that the senior national team has been toying with Nigerians’ emotions for so long.
Against all predictions, Central African Republic defeated Nigeria 1-0 at the Teslim Balogun Stadium on Thursday, putting to question Super Eagles’ chances of qualifying for next year’s FIFA World Cup.
The loss in Lagos was Nigeria’s first defeat in a World Cup qualifier in Lagos in over 40 years and also the country’s first against one of the least ranked teams in world football.
There are 90 spots between the 34th Super Eagles and 124th ranked Central African Republic.
In a statement on Friday, the Guild’s President, Tony Ubani, described Thursday’s performance by the Eagles as the lowest he has seen the senior national team since Angola held Nigeria to a 1-1 draw on the way to the Germany 2006 World Cup, adding that if drastic action was not taken, the country could miss the 2022 edition of the Mundial.
He added: “The Super Eagles have been toying with Nigerians’ emotions for so long, but what happened on Thursday is unprecedented in the history of Nigerian football.
“The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) must find a way of arresting the slide before the next game in Cameroun.
“This was how the Eagles behaved until they missed the 2006 World Cup. Nigerians don’t easily forget. Nobody should feel he is untouchable because history teaches us otherwise.”
Ubani, who said Super Eagles Manager, Gernot Rohr, seems to have abandoned his primary duties and embraced Nigerian football politics, warned that the country has so much to lose if it failed to qualify for the World Cup.
“Rohr has been with the Super Eagles for more than five years, but there is nothing to show for it. What he does is travel all around the world in search of players whose names sound Nigerian and bring them to play for the country. Any serious football fan can do that even without leaving the comfort of his sitting room.
“If the team has grown bigger than him, he should resign honourably instead of subjecting Nigerians to emotional torture.
“Cape Verde and Central African Republic have four points each, while Nigeria has six. If the Eagles fail to beat Central African Republic on Sunday and Cape Verde beats Liberia, the Super Eagles’ fate will no longer be in their hands. A stitch in time saves nine.”
The Super Eagles will play their fourth game of the World Cup qualifying series against Central African Republic in Douala, Cameroun on Sunday while Cape Verde will meet Liberia.
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