Russia 2018 World Cup Qualifier: Nigeria Vs Cameroun

Come Friday this week our own Super Eagles will take on the Indomitable Lions of Cameroun in a 2018 World cup qualifier at Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

As usual, Nigerians are displaying arrogant over-confidence. Every radio or television station you tune in to, it is that Cameroun will fall yakata at Uyo. Every newspaper you read would appear like the Camerounian players each have one leg and are not going to field 11 players against our own 11 players. Our players themselves are boasting too.

This is the kind of attitude we displayed when the Bafana Bafana of South Africa came to the same Uyo stadium and beat us 2-0 in a Nations Cup qualifier.

I just wish Nigerians would be less confident; that the players themselves should stop boasting and do the talking on the pitch of play on Friday.

Time and again Cameroun has proven to be superior to Nigeria when it to comes football. They have stopped us from going to World Cup several times before. They have also stopped us from lifting the Nations Cup trophy several times before, the most painful of all being the Ghana-Nigeria 2000 Nations Cup final played at the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.

Cameroun is five times African champions. They are current African champion, and are above Nigeria on the latest FIFA and CAF ranking. You may discount the ranking as having no significance. Still Cameroun has always been a formidable foe to Nigeria, even outside football. On the diplomatic front, they have floored us before with the Bakassi peninsular issue. Their current players have been together for a while haven participated in the last Nations Cup qualifiers, the Nations Cup competition proper (in which they emerged champions) and the last Confederation Cup. The team is more coordinated than the Nigerian team. They are more physically endowed and mentally fit; They have better attitude, work ethics and mentality than the Nigerian team. And they talk less.

Their drawback though is that they are not technically and tactically superior to Nigeria. Plus, they are currently enmeshed in some crisis. That crisis though did not start now, and it does not stop them from performing on the pitch of play.

They had that crisis when they won the last African Nations Cup. They also had their technical and tactical deficiency when they won that Nations Cup. Nigeria with our technical and tactical superiority (yet to be tested under coach Rohr in my view) did not even qualify for that Nations Cup. And of course, we saw our tactical genius on display when South Africa came to Uyo and beat us 2-0. In our backyard.

Nigeria is currently toping the group with 6 points. Cameroun has 1 point. If we win at Uyo on Friday, our World Cup ticket is more or less secured. God forbids Cameroun wins, they will be on 4 points, with almost sure victory awaiting them in the return match in Yaoundé. Then we might as well kiss the World Cup ticket goodbye, unless by some divine intervention.

As I write we have only 16 players in camp. One would think that by now all the players have hit camp and training in full force with tactics and strategy being perfected. Side by side with Cameroun, our side is the weaker team. We are not blended, with the goal keeping area being a major headache for us since No. 1 keeper, Carl Ikeme, developed leukemia and exited the national team.

But the Super Eagles is a curious team. It has a way of pulling off surprises when nobody gives them a chance. They showed this streak against Algeria. They also have a way of being dismal when you expect much from them. The loss to South Africa in their last match was one of such.

All things considered, I just hope our boys would shut up and talk on the pitch of play.