2 down, 4 to go! In another week Nigeria will be facing their third test in the series of 6 matches that would decide if the country would be at the first African World Cup or not. The country’s first match in Maputo some months ago, now a distant memory, is diametrically different from the second match against Kenya last Sunday in Abuja. Many of Nigeria’s players in both matches are different; the mood of both matches is different; and the performance of the Nigerian team on both occasions is different as are the results! The truth about the game of football is that every match is a different journey and a different experience. That’s why two teams can play two games in the space of one week on the same field, with the same players and officials, and come up with two totally different results. That’s why Nigeria scandalously lost against Algeria in the first match at Algiers 1990 by 5 goals, and played against the same team two weeks later in the finals and lost narrowly in a match they almost won by a disputable one goal! No two matches are ever the same. Every match must be treated separately, requiring a new approach, a new strategy and team tactics, a different psychology and different preparation! In effect every match is a different journey! That’s why as the Super Eagles file out against Tunisia in Tunis next week the world should not expect to see anything like the team’s last two matches!  

To start with, the stakes are a lot higher than any match the country has played so far and may indeed be the most decisive match in the series of 6 matches that will determine which of the four teams will be at the Mundial. Secondly, it is a match Nigeria must not lose! For the Eagles, therefore, their task is cut out for them irrespective of the state of the team at the moment. As the team departs for Malta  en-route Tunisia today it is physically loaded to the hilt with players of immense reputation that would make the Tunisians quiver. Without doubt, because of the style, technical depth and player quality of the Tunisians (unlike the ‘bush’ Kenyans) the Eagles would have to play the better football to survive or win this encounter. But therein also lies the challenge – who should Amodu use to execute this al match? Should he use the relatively young team that played absolutely brilliantly and beat France in St. Etienne, and wobbled but still walloped Kenya, or should he re-introduce some of the older and more experienced players that did not do so well in Maputo, who did not show up for the two preparatory friendly matches but re-joined the team shortly before the Kenyan match? The players concerned were thus excluded from the Kenyan match to instil a sense of justice and discipline in the team, and to diffuse bloated egos. As it turned out, following the good result (not performance) of the team, the decision to exclude them has been well-received by the public if media reports and commentaries are to be believed. Having said that, the decision (a brave one at that) was such a big gamble that had the team failed, all hell would have been let loose on the technical team. All’s well that ends well though. The team played relatively poorly but won very well and that’s all that matters in the long run. The matter of justice and discipline has been well established, but at an unknown cost that will become clear in the match against Tunisia!

Has the psyche of the team been harmed? Have egos been bruised beyond salvage? Or have discipline, commitment, pride, patriotism and dedication to the World Cup cause been restored? What would Amodu Shuaibu do? That’s why coaching is the most difficult job in the world and I cannot be one – there are too many contending variables! Has team spirit been restored since the Kenyan match? I was at the after-match reception given the team after the match and what I saw and witnessed warmed my heart. The unprecedented carrot dangled before the players as motivation for the Tunisian match was hailed with songs of war by a team apparently re-united for that mission.

So, how do I think the match would go? Let me attempt to be dispassionate and separate my role as a member of the Presidential Task Force from my position as an observer carrying out a purely academic evaluation. First, I have chosen not to be in Tunis! I cannot bear the tension that is already building up! The assurance I have and can give is that whoever Amodu plays in this encounter would give a good account of themselves. Tunisia is a hellish place where Nigerian teams play heavenly football. Check the records. The Tunis stadium with its rich lush green turf is a theatre of dreams. The Nigerian players would be completely at home with the weather. The Tunisians would accord the Nigerian players a lot of respect and play with some fear. This would result in all manner of intimidation from the moment the Eagles land at the airport to the moment the match starts. After that the teams would be on their own. I have seen the massive vociferous Tunisian supporters, twice in past matches between the two countries, silenced by the sheer performance of the Super Eagles. And that’s what will happen again when the Tunisians find that the Eagles that played in Maputo, and the ones that they have spied on that played in Abuja are total aliens to the team that would unfold in Tunis. The Eagles may even turn out not to be masterful on the night, but the Tunisians would find the going so difficult that beating their guests would become a mission impossible.

My final thoughts? A victory for either would almost certainly determine the country that eventually qualifies to represent the group. That’s why it is possible (it is even likely), that the ‘agony’ of both countries would be extended with the match ending in a draw!