International Football
Don’t Be Intimidated, Eguavoen Urges Super Eagles
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
Former Super Eagles’ player and chief coach, Austin Eguavoen has urged the current class of the team to be focused as they face perhaps their toughest challenge since Coach Gernot Rohr got to the saddle. The Super Eagles face Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions on Friday in the first leg of a back-to-back fixture in 2018 World Cup qualifiers.
“They should expect a tough encounter”, remarked Eguavoen who had in the past been involved in blood and sweat –spilling encounters with Cameroon. “Fixtures involving Nigeria and Cameroon or Ghana and Nigeria as well as Cameroon and Ghana are always classic encounters”, Eguavoen said. Therefore, no one should expect a mere stroll in the pack.
“Don’t be deceived by the paltry two points Cameroon currently have. They are African champions and they take a match with Nigeria very serious”, Equavoen told Sports Village Square.
He said it is good that Nigeria are currently on the drivers’ seat but the Super Eagles have to do a lot to sustain the momentum. The players should realise that they should not just rely on financial reward as motivation for the match, but look forward to qualifying for the World Cup as that will be more fulfilling for their career.
“Their market values will rise should they qualify for the World Cup”, Eguavoen who was the on-field skipper when Nigeria won the Africa Cup of Nations at Tunisia ’94 counselled.
He also pointed out that as Nigeria have respect for the Cameroonian Lions so also are the Cameroonians to Nigeria.
“Cameroon will natural not want to seat back and allow Nigeria to further widen the point gap as the race to Russia 2018 gathers momentum. “They will put a lot of intimidating pressure on us and we have to react well too”, said Eguavoen, a veteran of the 1994 and 1998 World Cup.
He pointed out the fact that Cameroon don’t play fanciful football and that they are often very physical. “Please tell the boys, they should not be intimidated”.
He recalled some of the matches he played for Nigeria against Cameroon. “They play robust football. He recalled the World Cup qualifying encounter Cameroon played with Nigeria at the Lekan Salami Stadium, Ibadan in June 1989.
“They have huge players like Emmanuel Kunde and others. I remember Louis Mfede trying to intimidate me. I reacted and told him this is Ibadan, not Yaoundé, I will ‘kill’ you here!
“He chickened out and moved away from me to the right side of their attack”, recalled Eguavoen. He further said it was an attempt to always intimidate the opposition that informed their controversial sleeveless shirts of the early 2000 which FIFA had to ban.
“They wanted opposing players to see their biceps and feel intimidated. I want the Super Eagles to take a full advantage of the home match because the Yaoundé crowd are also very intimidating. “If we get our results here, the return leg becomes less important to Cameroon”, he reasoned.
Aliou Cisse has been named coach of the Angola national team, the country’s football federation (FAF) announced on Thursday, 24 hours after the Senegalese left his post in Libya.
The 50-year-old coach, who led Senegal to their maiden Africa Cup of Nations title in 2022, ended his short stint with the Libyan national team on Wednesday, after taking charge in March 2025.
“Welcome, Aliou Cisse, head coach of the Angola national team,” the FAF said on Facebook. Angola, which failed to reach this year’s World Cup, will start their 2027 AFCON qualifying campaign in September.
-Reuters
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Nigeria’s Super Eagles were held to a 2-2 draw by FIFA World Cup-bound Jordan in an eventful international friendly in Antalya on Tuesday night, with the contest overshadowed by a late red card to Alex Iwobi.
Iwobi, making his 98th appearance for the national team, was sent off in the closing stages, capping a dramatic encounter in which Nigeria surrendered a first-half lead and finished the game with ten men.
The match, played at the Mardan Sports Complex, brought Nigeria’s March international window to a close, but it proved anything but routine as both sides delivered a fiercely contested and entertaining clash.
Jordan, ranked 64th in the world and enjoying strong recent form, struck first in the 17th minute through Mousa Tamari. A well-worked free-kick routine caught the Nigerian defence napping, allowing the forward to fire home the opener.
Nigeria responded quickly and thought they had equalised six minutes later when Raphael Onyedika finished from a Moses Simon cut-back, but the goal was controversially ruled out.
The Super Eagles eventually drew level in the 30th minute. Stand-in captain Moses Simon, earning his 97th cap, reacted fastest after Ademola Lookman’s effort was blocked, slotting home with a composed left-footed finish for his second goal in as many matches.
Nigeria went ahead four minutes before halftime when Bright Osayi-Samuel’s pinpoint cross found debutant Emmanuel Fernandez, who showed great composure to control and finish, giving the three-time African champions a 2-1 lead at the interval.
The second half took on a more physical tone, with goalkeeper Francis Uzoho forced off in the 57th minute after sustaining an injury while clearing the ball. Adebayo Adeleye replaced him between the posts.
Head coach Eric Chelle introduced Wilfred Ndidi and Alex Iwobi to shore up the midfield, but Jordan continued to press and were rewarded with an equaliser in the 77th minute.
Nigeria pushed for a winner late on, handing a senior debut to Philip Otele, while Samuel Chukwueze came on for Moses Simon. However, the closing moments were marred by Iwobi’s dismissal, leaving the Super Eagles to see out the match with ten men.
Despite the draw, the encounter offered valuable insights for the coaching crew as Nigeria continues preparations for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
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By Kunle Solaja
Match Context
- Fixture: Jordan vs Nigeria
- Venue: Antalya, Turkey
- Occasion: Four-Nation Invitational Tournament
- Kick-off: Tuesday (evening)
They would have loved facing Jamaica in Mexico today for a place at the World Cup, but fate has other plans, and Nigeria’s Super Eagles will be taking on World Cup debutants Jordan in a friendly match instead in Turkey.
The encounter promises to be a revealing contest for both sides as preparations intensify for future global assignments.
The encounter, staged as part of a four-nation tournament in Turkey, will be the third meeting between the two countries, with the head-to-head record finely poised.
History Beckons in Third Meeting
Nigeria claimed a 2-0 victory in their first clash at the National Stadium, Lagos, on 28 April 2004 during the LG Cup.
However, the tables turned in 2013 when a largely experimental Nigerian side under the late Stephen Keshi suffered a 1-0 defeat in Amman, courtesy of a Hatem Aqel penalty.
This latest meeting now serves as the decider in what has quietly become a balanced rivalry.
Jordan arrive in buoyant mood, riding on the crest of a historic achievement, which is their first-ever qualification for the FIFA World Cup (2026).
Jordan’s Al-Nashama
Their recent form underlines a team growing in confidence and tactical discipline. In the past months, Al-Nashama have:
- Held Russia (0-0)
- Defeated Dominican Republic (3-0)
- Drawn with Mali (0-0)
- Narrowly lost to Bolivia (1-0) and Albania (4-2)
- Pushed Tunisia (3-2 loss) in a competitive encounter
They also opened this invitational tournament with a 2-2 draw against Costa Rica, further evidence of their resilience.
The team’s preparations have been boosted by a morale-lifting visit from Prince Ali bin Al-Hussein, President of the Jordan Football Association, during their Antalya training camp.
Coach Jamal Al-Salami has deliberately scheduled matches against Nigeria and Costa Rica, citing their stylistic similarity to World Cup opponents such as Argentina, Austria, and Algeria.
Despite missing several key players, including star forward Mousa Ta’mari, Jordan have continued to show depth, blending senior players with youth prospects as part of a broader developmental strategy.
Nigeria head into the clash with renewed confidence after a 2-1 victory over Iran in their opening game of the tournament, with goals from Moses Simon and Akor Adams.
Unlike previous meetings, the Super Eagles are expected to field a full-strength squad, packed with Europe-based stars, something Jordanian observers have already described as a “heavyweight challenge.”
The squad boasts a blend of experience and attacking flair.
The presence of multiple attacking options gives Nigeria a clear edge going forward, while their physicality and pace could pose serious problems for the Jordanians.
Jordan are expected to adopt a compact, disciplined shape, relying on quick transitions and defensive organisation, qualities that earned them results against stronger opposition in recent friendlies.
Nigeria, by contrast, will likely dominate possession, using width and individual brilliance to break down Jordan’s defensive lines.
The key battle may lie in midfield, where Jordan’s structure will be tested against Nigeria’s blend of strength, technique, and tempo.
For Jordan, this is another step in fine-tuning a squad preparing for its historic World Cup debut—a chance to measure themselves against elite opposition.
For Nigeria, it is an opportunity to assert authority, build cohesion among its star-studded squad, and maintain momentum ahead of more competitive fixtures.
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