Super Eagles Nation :: Dedicated to Nigerian Football Statistics and History

Nigeria hoped for a period to assure its presence at the 2010 World Cup finals by emerging as the tournament host. However, its bid was grounded shortly after it begun. In reality, it was a long shot and more importantly it lacked government support. Instead, Nigeria now seeks for an alternative route to the World Cup finals which top Nigerian FA officials refer to as the country's "birth right." It is a rather queer appellation but one that developed when the former FA Chairman, Alhaji Ibrahim Galadima told the press that it was not "Nigeria's birth right to play in the World Cup finals."

Clearly, this is no shoo-in for Nigeria inspite of Taiwo Ogunjobi's recent boast that qualifying for the World Cup finals is indeed "Nigeria's birth right." He will find that such a boast does not assure any thing. There are several teams that can match Nigeria on the field of play and they include Ghana, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Tunisia, Angola, Mali, Senegal, and Morocco. That is a total of 10 teams (including Nigeria) vying for just just five spots in the final! Worse still, three of those could find themselves vying for a single spot in the last stages of the qualifiers. So much for "birth right."

Fortunately, Nigeria's coach Shaibu Amodu has brought new hop to the team and importantly he has experience and history on his side. In the 2002 qualifiers, the team was stuttering towards elimination when he was called up to the rescue. He did. This time, he has been invited early to assure qualification but it will not be easy. The first headache is that Nigeria's football is in decline while several other African countries are on the incline.

Then he has huge holes in his team. The midfield is in shambles. What used to be the strength of the team is its current weakness. Without a viable midfield, the deadly Nigerian forwards go without service and the team struggles. However, it seems Amodu's intent of using Ike Uche as the second attacker provides the traditional attacking flair and more passing options. Team spirit appears to be high and it is so important that Amodu may have to take extraordinary measures to sustain it.

Nigeria, a country loaded with exquisite talents has several gifted players coming up from the youth ranks and Coach Amodu has given a look-in to Lukman Haruna in the Austria friendly. He may yet also offer appearances to Rabiu Ibrahim, Kingsley Udoh, and one or two others. These may be the guys who will help the team when the World Cup qualifying heat turns up in 2009. This is important as the likes of skipper Nwankwo Kanu and John Utaka may well be on the way out. Kanu provides some inspiration but he has slowed down considerably and Utaka has had a long stretch of poor games.

The good news is that the FA has so far provided the necessary support. The FA may have reduced player match bonuses but it is paying bonuses more promptly than ever. The FA has also provided excellent camping facilities at Transcorp Hilton and five-star hotels away from the country. In essence, the FA has treated the team to top-class facilities. What is left is for the FA to schedule home games in the late evening prioviding its Europe-based players with the best advantage possible.

The team is certainly and psychologically prepared but so will be several of its opponents, particularly in the last phase of the qualifiers where only the best teams will remain. It is the phase where the draws would go a long way in determining Nigeria's fate. Invariably, it is the FA's commitment to a good relationship with the team, the team's confidence and self belief, Coach Amodu's deft use of his players that will go a long way in determining whether the Super Eagles will be in South Africa or not. The 2010 World Cup stares NIgeria in the face but it is certainly not a "birth right."