The World Cup Qualification without the need for Calculator :An Insight into Nigeria's recent qualifications to the World Cup finals

By

Soibi Ransom

Super eagles of Nigeria yesterday booked a place in next year World Cup thanks to Alex Iwobi's second half strike. The Arsenal man came off the bench to break the deadlock in the 72nd minute from a Shehu cross, his 2nd international goal and against a stubborn and frightening Zambian side who showed a real hunger to have three points at the Godswill Akpabio stadium. The victory ensures that Nigeria has 13 points and a 6 point advantage over 2nd placed Zambia with a game to spare. The qualification also means that Nigeria becomes the first African side to qualify for next years showpiece joining the likes of Germany, Brazil and Spain. Many Nigerians have been reacting joyfully to this success calling it remarkable and unifying The Super Eagles this time around got the job done in their penultimate game, leaving fans with a less worrisome state of mind.

It can be recalled that Nigeria qualified for her 1st World Cup in 94' under the guidance of Clemens Westerhoff after many years of good attempt. In 98' they followed suit convincingly when paired in the same group as Burkina Faso, Guinea and Kenya

In 2002 Nigeria were faced with the prospect of missing out on their first World Cup after two straight qualifications but a final day 3-0 victory at Port Harcourt against Ghana thanks to Victor Aghali's two superb headers proved to be the needed as Nigeria finished a point above George Weah's Liberia. It was the first time Nigeria's bought calculators and considered the possibilities of Ghana and Liberia and other "if's".


As for 2006 World Cup Nigeria were paired with Angola, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Algeria and Gabon. The games against Angola was pivotal as Angola won the first leg at Luanda by a single goal and in the return Leg Figueredo's second half free kick which was mismanaged by Goal keeper Vincent Enyeama sneaked in to cancel out Jay Jay Okocha wonderful free kick opener. The game ended with the Nigerian skipper shaking his head as he threw his arms in the air in disapproval of the result. It was reported that most of the home based and younger players were oblivious of the fact that qualification was by head to head and Angola had the edge because of their home victory even with Nigeria having a superior goal difference. Nigerians began to calculate again and the mathematicians brought out the permutations and combinations. The sport analyst and lovers began to sing the ''If Angola loose and Nigeria win song''. Nigeria had to win their remaining two games which they did by beating Algeria 5-2 in away and Zimbabwe in Abuja 5-1. The fate of the Super eagles rested on Gabon, it was even said that the Nigerian FF ( Football Federation) formely FA promised cash rewards to the Gabon players if they avoided defeat but Fabrice Akwa's 79th minute goal sent Angola to the world Cup. This broke Nigerian football hearts and the blame game began. Some felt the skipper Jay Jay was at fault for faking an injury so he would play for his club Bolton wanderers a game Nigeria failed to win. Some blamed the coach for not doing well enough to get them wins against Angola. Chukwu was suspended for the remaining two qualifying matches and in all fairness it was justified but Nigeria missed out for the first time since 94'.


Then came 2010 and the eagle again began their campaign being paired with Kenya, Tunisia and Mozambique. Their first game which was in Maputo ended in a goalless draw while Kenya lost to Tunisia at home. Both Tunisia and Nigeria battled for top spot along the way but as usual when Tunisia came to Nigeria they snatched an 89th minute equaliser from Darragi. The Super eagles had put the whole nation in a difficult situation with that result and the football analysts began to per mutate and calculate the different possible outcomes. It then came down to the last game of the qualification where Nigeria would have to beat Kenya and hope that Mozambique get at least a draw against Tunisia. Hopefully Mozambique did the eagles a favour by winning One nil, scoring in the 83rd minute while Nigeria narrowly scaled through to the world Cup with Newcastle's Obafemi Martins netting an 81st minute winner in Nairobi. The pressure was extinguished and Nigeria had made it.

In the 2014 Nigeria had a less stressful qualifying group. Being African Champions, they faced Malawi, Kenya and Namibia which they easily beat and made it to the finals .
In the Latest qualification many feared Nigeria would struggle given that Coach Sunday Oliseh was underperforming and also having fall out with key players. His stifle approach saw him fall out with Veteran Goal keeper Vincent Enyeama. On the pitch performaces were uninspiring and with the coach claiming he was suffering from health challenges caused by members of the NFF he resigned. The NFF quickly recruited Gernot Rohr former Bayern Munich defender, the 64 year old quickly put the pieces together and made the eagles fly again. Despite being paired with Cameroon, Zambia and Algeria, the eagle had a smooth qualification avoiding defeat and drawing only a game against Cameroon. Yesterday's victory means the super eagles will have their green white green colors running on the pitch of Vladimir Putin's Russia and how sweet it is to do so without creating tension and blood pressure for her supporters