The Nigeria Soccer Federation (NFF) has come down exhausting on striker Cyriel Dessers and faulted captain William Troost-Ekong following the Tremendous Eagles’ disappointing 1-1 draw in opposition to South Africa of their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying match on Tuesday in Bloemfontein.
Nigeria went into the encounter needing a win to maintain their qualification hopes alive however have been dealt an early blow when defender Ola Aina limped off within the eighth minute. Issues worsened within the twenty fifth minute when Troost-Ekong put the ball into his personal internet, gifting Bafana Bafana the lead.
Fulham defender Calvin Bassey restored parity simply earlier than the break with a robust header, however regardless of having fun with extra of the ball within the second half, the Tremendous Eagles failed to show dominance into targets. Substitutes Tolu Arokodare, Samuel Chukwueze and Chrisantus Uche all struggled to make an affect.
In a press release issued by its Director of Communications, Dr. Ademola Olajire, the NFF singled out Dessers for his poor displaying, noting he was substituted at halftime after one other underwhelming show.
“Cyriel Dessers, who had an unimpressive sport in Uyo the place he turned out to be a substitute that was substituted, didn’t have a greater sport as he was too sluggish to latch onto passes, couldn’t win aerial balls and did little in bringing alive the Nigerian assault,” the federation stated.
The NFF additionally faulted Ekong for his personal objective, which quickly deflated the staff’s spirit.
“The Tremendous Eagles’ preventing spirit was diminished for a interval after staff captain William Ekong inadvertently swept the ball into his personal internet within the twenty fifth minute, wrong-footing Stanley Nwabali to offer the Bafana the lead and nice impetus,” the assertion famous.
Nevertheless, the federation lauded Bassey for his dedication to pull Nigeria again into the competition.
“Defender Calvin Bassey confirmed immense preventing spirit and resilience to get Nigeria again into the sport with a minute left of the primary interval, when he ran with the ball upfront. The ball discovered Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, whose pull-out Bassey met firmly to nod previous Ronwen Williams for the leveller,” it added.
Regardless of that, the NFF lamented the Eagles’ second-half efficiency, criticising their lack of innovative in entrance of objective.
Though the draw ensured Nigeria stayed in competition with 11 factors from eight video games, South Africa stay firmly on prime of Group C with 17 factors.
The Tremendous Eagles should now beat each Lesotho and Benin Republic — and hope outcomes elsewhere go their approach — to face any likelihood of qualifying for subsequent yr’s World Cup in North America.
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