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Harry Awurumibe
Samuel Chukwueze…Fans believe that his removal contributed to Nigeria’s loss to Algeria
Nigeria’s 2-1 defeat by Algeria in the semi-final tie of the on-going Africa Cup of Nations AFCON) Egypt 2019 is still hurting most residents of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja with most of the fans blaming the entire team for the painful loss.
An added time free kick off the boot of Riyad Mahrez saw the ball sail into Nigeria’s Super Eagles empty net as unimpressive goalkeeper, Daniel Akpeyi could not reach the curling ball.
But the manner of the goal which came in the 3rd minute of the added 4 minutes after the match was still tied at 1-1 at full 90 minutes of the game has got Nigerian fans specifically resident of the FCT furious.
Alhaji Idrissu Yusuf who was amongst the many people who watched the match at one of the viewing centers in Apo District blamed the entire team for the loss, pointing out that the technical crew and the players did not show enough hunger on the day to grind out victory over the Algerians.
Said he,”it was very clear that our team (Super Eagles) did not show enough hunger to win the match. They did not fight like wounded lions especially towards the end of the game”.
This view was also reechoed by Desmond Jonathan, an Abuja-based auto mechanic who heaped the blame on the Head Coach, Gernot Rohr whom he accused of lacking in technical and tactical Knowhow by the kind of substitutions he makes in the course of the games the team played.
According to him, “Coach Gernot Rorh should be blamed for the loss because they change he made when he removed Samuel Chukwueze who was a big threat to the Algerian backline emboldened the Algerians to surge forward in numbers to trouble the Nigerian defence”.
But for Ayodele Abass, a Real Estate consultant in Darkwo, Abuja the blame shoud go to the players whom he accused of lack in fighting spirit, adding that the Super Eagles did not approach the match against Algeria with the winning mentality expected of the players at the critical moments of the match.
“We (Nigerian fans) the players to match the Algerians grit for grit especially towards the end of the match but they failed to get their acts together. They should have played for extra time by just holding on to the ball up field and clear their lines properly in the vital area. They failed their fans big time”, Abass concluded.
Many others including a lady dressed in the Super Eagles gears but who do not want her name in the media urged the authorities to overhaul the entire team after Egypt 2019 if the country wants to win trophies in the years ahead.