The Super Eagles on Wednesday drew 2-2
with South Africa, and consequently failed to qualify for the 2015
Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) and defend the title they won in 2013. In their Final Qualifying Group A match
played at the Akwa Ibom International Stadium in Uyo, the Eagles
struggled to get a point from the match they needed to win. The draw meant Nigeria will not be in
Equatorial Guinea
next January, and failed to beat the Bafana Bafana
side which had topped the group and were only playing for pride.
The Super Eagles also finished outside
of their group’s top two automatic qualification spots with eight
points, after group rivals Congo won 1-0 in Sudan.
They finished third, but their total also put them out of the running for the ticket available to the best third-placed team. Before the game, Nigeria and Congo were
tied at seven points but the Super Eagles needed an outright win over
already-qualified South Africa irrespective of the outcome of today’s
match.
Nigeria went into the game with their
fate in their own hands to get a win and claim second spot in the table
to play in the finals alongside group winners Bafana Bafana.
But the Super Eagles blew their chance
to prevent a troubled campaign from turning disastrous, even though they
fought back from two goals down to finish with a draw.
The writing was on the wall for Stephen Keshi’s side, which has been plagued by both on- and off-the-pitch problems.