Nigeria vs Iran: The Devastating Draw

Though some Iranians might view Monday’s 0-0 draw as a victory of sorts, across Nigeria, where fans had been so confident that the Super Eagles would win, the result was nothing other than a defeat.

"Keshi is to blame”, read the headline on most major newspapers. The quotation came from former Super Eagles star Austin Jay Jay Okocha, who attacked Keshi for “not bringing anything to the table” despite saying that African football suffered from a lack of tactical discipline. Keshi made uninspiring substitutions, Okocha said, referring to Keshi’s decision to replace Victor Moses with Shola Ameobi. He also said that Osaze Odemwingie should have been brought in earlier. 

Other dailies joined in the attack against Keshi: “Stephen Keshi: The Wrong Coach for the World Cup,” ran the headline in the daily newspaper Vanguard. The World Cup was “done and dusted” as far as it was concerned, and there was no point in thinking otherwise. Other media was less harsh, referring mainly to the deep “frustration” of a “barren” draw.

In recent months, Nigerian manager Stephen Keshi has enjoyed tremendous support from fans. But now some of the criticisms have crept back in. It was always there, though—doubts arising after the tepid friendlies, and about Keshi’s final selections for the team. Femi Aribisala of the Vanguard said that, ahead of the World Cup, any murmurings of doubt were quickly dismissed or silenced. Fans felt disloyal if they voiced doubts beforehand; after all, Nigerians have a habit of not giving its team enough credit. Sometimes this has had a surprising outcome and the team has pulled together when the pressure appeared to be off. Take 2013’s Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa, when Nigeria beat Burkina Faso in the final and won the championship.

To be fair, strong starts in international competitions have never been their forte. But everyone thought Nigeria would beat Iran. The match was supposed to be a launchpad for greater things.

Unheeded Warnings: Iran will “Rattle” Nigeria

There were some who advised caution. Former Super Eagles captain Sunday Oliseh warned that Iran would rattle Nigeria. The Iran team had a particular strength in its tendency to change its tactics often, a strategy that could prove difficult for Nigeria, he said.

“Iran can have different formations and different styles; one offensive, one waiting back and one taking the fight to the opponent. They are not as bad as people think,” the former Borussis Dortmund player told 365footballnews.com ahead of Monday’s match.

And the game worked exactly the way Oliseh predicted it would: the Nigerian team struggled to establish a good strategy to break down Iran.

Prior to the match, the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) had emphasized the importance of Nigeria winning and was confident that they would. “I remain optimistic and confident that the Eagles will still qualify,” said NFF president Aminu Maigari.

“I have spoken with the head coach and he knows that victory against Bosnia-Herzegovina is non-negotiable. The team will do what is necessary to earn the three points and then face with Argentina with courage,” he added.

Former Arsenal player and member of the national team Kanu Nwankwo joined the conversation :" After yesterday’s game we are disappointed. Iran made it difficult,” he posted on Twitter. For the next match, he said, “we will do more.”

Nigeria’s sports minister, Tamuno Danagogo, may well be regretting his comments about Nigeria winning he World Cup. “I want to assure the Eagles that they will get full support ... so that our target of going beyond the semi final and even winning the cup is achieved,” he said, before the team left for Brazil.

But if Nigeria fails to get past Bosnia-Herzegovina on Saturday, the knives will be out —not only will support from the government begin to wane, the faith of the public will be lost too.