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AFCON 2023: Football Enthusiasts Optimistic of Nigeria`s Victory Over S/Africa
Football enthusiasts across the country are optimistic that the Nigeria Super Eagles will triumph over the Bafana Bafana of South Africa in the semifinals at the ongoing African Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Cote d`Ivoire.
The respondents who spoke with newsmen on Wednesday, said that the Eagles have the capacity win and progress to the final.
NAN reports that Nigeria and South Africa will clash in the seminal of the ongoing AFCON at the Stade De Bouake, Cote d’Ivoire at 6pm today (Wednesday)
In Jos, Jerry Udoh, a journalist and football fan, said that going head-to-head, Nigeria has the upper hand against the South Africans.
Udoh said that Nigeria played South Africa 14 times and won seven times; South Africa came out on top twice, while they shared the spoils on five occasions.
“Naturally, Nigeria has an advantage over the South Africans; the last time they met in the African Cup of Nations’ quarterfinal, Nigeria won 2-1.
“As a sports enthusiast and as a Nigerian fan, I expect them to win, and I believe they will win,’’ he said.
Samson Adesoji, a sports commentator, expected a difficult encounter for Nigeria on two grounds.
“He believes that Nigeria has what it takes to beat the South Africans, and that is the reason why he gave advice.
“To me, this is a done deal. If you see the boys, you will know that this is a different Nigerian team that wants to make a point.
“When you see the Eagles, you will see cohesion and commitment in the team, individual players who are ready to make the country proud.
Agabus Pwanagba, another football fan and ardent supporter of the Super Eagles, foresees a fiercely contested match.
He said that the rivalry between Nigeria and South Africa had been there for a long time, but Nigeria most of the time came out on top.
Pwanagba believes that Nigeria’s performance in the tournament was better than that of South Africa, but cautions that every game needs a different approach.
According to him, the rivalry would be reignited, and it was going to be a tight game, but he expects Nigeria to overcome Bafana Bafana.
Katdapba Gobum, a veteran journalist and sports lover, sees the game as a game of wits, but I believe Nigeria would win 2-1.
“From every indication, our boys are prepared just like the South Africans, but we are going to match their tactics by tactics and we will prevail.
“I believe this year is our year, and no one can stop us, not even South Africans,’’ he added.
In Benin, Emmanuel Ajibola, Secretary of the Edo Football Association, said he was optimistic Nigeria would triumph over South Africa in the first semi-final of the tournament.
He said though the Super Eagles were underrated, their performance had shown that Nigeria had a solid team for the competition.
“For the fact that they only conceded one goal so far shows that we have a team. They may not be playing to our taste, but the coach knows what he is doing.
“The coach has a pattern that he wants them to play and they are playing to instruction. As long as they did that, to God be the glory, it has been helping them.
“I am a very positive person and Nigeria is my country. To me, Nigeria will carry the day tomorrow. Nigeria will be victorious against South Africa.
“I believe Nigeria will have more goals against South Africa than ever in the tournament. We may likely have more than two goals tomorrow,” he said.
Mr Jethro Ibileke, a sports journalist and analyst said going by the antecedent, Nigeria would have a good outing against their South African counterparts.
He, however, cautioned the team against loss of concentration, urging the Nigerian boys to go for more goals in the game.
“We need to score more goals. We lost so many chances (against Angola). We need to take advantage of those chances.
“ When you miss your chances, the opponents will punish you for that. Our strikers need to be sharp,“he said.
In Enugu, Enugu State Football Association Secretary, Sunday Ugwu said that he was very confident the Eagles would win the encounter.
“As a Nigerian, I want them to win and as a fan I want them to win.I just hope they will be at their best today, ” he said.
Ugwu, however, urged the team not to underrate the Bafana Bafana of South Africa.
Emma Nweze, a Sports writer also expressed the hope that the Super Eagles will win their match against the South Africans.
“I am very confident Nigeria will carry the day with a 3-1 score line, ” he said.
Norbert Okolo said though South Africa is playing their best this time but I trust that the Eagles will emerge victorious.
“South Africa is good no doubt but if our boys play their best, they will surely win the match, ” he said
In Kano, a football fan, Simon Okafor, advised the Eagles to maintain the tempo that gave the team victory against Angola in the quarter finals.
He urged them to replicate the standard against Angola when they meet South Africa in their semi-final match.
Mustafa Adamu, commended the team for its victory against Angola but said that a more tactical opponent would punish it, over their missed chances.
According to him, the Eagles have exhibited a good fighting spirit by beating Cote d` Ivoire, Cameroon and Angola.
Abubakar Musa, a football administrator, urged the attack to be calm and composed to enable them to utilise their chances.
“The team’s strikers are talented but they need to improve on their finishing,” he said.
Amina Yahaya, a fan of the Eagles urged Nigerians to pray for the team to ensure that they overcome the South African opposition and win the trophy.
“We should pray that the team should do well to advance to the final, of the tournament,” Yahaya said.
In Asaba, Sam Erhunmwunsee, a journalist with the FRCN, said the Eagles must show character and determination in the game against South Africa.
“I expect the Super Eagles to display a high sense of agility over their South African counterparts.
“I know the Super Eagles will make Nigerians proud with a two zero victory over South Africa, “he said.
Uche Offor, a trader in Asaba, said the odds favours the Super Eagles to go through to the final.
“To me, South Africa does not pose any challenge to Nigeria at all, but that does not mean we should go to sleep.
The Portuguese Football Federation has reaffirmed its support for Cristiano Ronaldo’s continued involvement with the national team, with president Pedro Proença describing the veteran forward as an icon of Portuguese football.
Proença on PFF’sX handle on Monday, said Ronaldo remains an important part of the national team whenever he is fit and available.
He also defended Ronaldo’s place in the squad, insisting that his selection is justified by his performances.
Proença also addressed the reported disagreement between Ronaldo and Portugal coach Jorge Jesus, describing the situation as a misunderstanding that should be handled internally.
The federation president stressed that Ronaldo remains firmly connected to the national team, pointing to his role as captain in the first of Portugal’s four matches.
According to Proença, Ronaldo’s decision to continue representing Portugal reflects his strong attachment to the national team.
“Cristiano Ronaldo is a Portuguese icon and an exceptional player. He could have ended his career at the World Cup, but he didn’t because of his love for his national team,” he said.
Proença added that he has personally witnessed the relationship between Ronaldo, the Portuguese public and the national team.
With the four matches now completed, Proença believes there is an opportunity for Ronaldo and Jesus to resolve their differences.
Proença concluded by reiterating that Ronaldo remains part of Portugal’s football legacy and that his future with the national team remains open.
“Cristiano is part of our legacy, and he will always be here whenever the coach wants him,” he said.
As Lionel Messi prepares to get a hero’s farewell for his successful international career, Cristiano Ronaldo’s could have ended with him running down the tunnel at the final whistle of a game he did not play.
After the World Cup, Argentina’s Messi, 39, decided to retire from international football, while Ronaldo, 41, opted to play on for Portugal.
Yet there is the possibility that Messi’s Argentina career will end up lasting a few days longer – with a home friendly with Benin on Tuesday marked as his final game.
Ronaldo, furious at being made to warm up and not be brought on against Norway in the Nations League, walked out on the Portugal squad after finding out he would not start against Denmark either.
The Al-Nassr forward has scored 146 goals and won 234 caps for Portugal – both world records.
After such a high-profile falling-out with new boss Jorge Jesus, also a larger than life character who does not back down, Ronaldo is facing a big decision.
Jesus has insisted he would be welcome back if he wants to return and talks between Ronaldo, his representatives and the Portuguese FA are ongoing as they look for a solution.
While Ronaldo could not carry on playing forever, this is not how he would have expected his international career to end.
His fans are remaining loyal to him, with social media full of posts supporting Ronaldo and criticising Jesus, while on the other side some fans and a lot of Portugal’s media have been critical of what they see as selfish behaviour.
Ahead of Portugal’s next match against Denmark in November lies a big decision for one of the world’s greatest ever players.
It has all happened very quickly.
After the World Cup, Portugal replaced Roberto Martinez with Jesus, who had been Ronaldo’s boss with Al-Nassr last season.
Less than two weeks ago, Ronaldo said: “I had a conversation with our president, with our coach. I still believe that I’m able to help the national team to reach what they want.”
Things were still looking OK when he started in the 1-0 win over Wales.
Jesus told Ronaldo he would be on the bench for the next game against Norway. After being told to warm up for a period of the game, he remained an unused substitute in a Portugal game for the first time in 18 years.
Guillem Balague, who wrote a book about Ronaldo in 2015, said: “He gets asked to warm up for the whole of the second half, practically.
And as the final whistle went he went down the tunnel instead of going to the fans with his team-mates.
Jesus said there was no falling out but confirmed Ronaldo would not start the next game with Denmark either.
Portugal’s FA president Pedro Proenca flew to Copenhagen, landing at 02:30 in the morning, to try to smooth things over with Ronaldo but failed.
After beating Norway on Sunday in their final Nations League match – again without Ronaldo – Jesus said: “If he wants to, he’ll return to the national team. We can talk before the next call-up, but Cris is the one who’s going to decide.
On several billboards in Lisbon posters went up praising Ronaldo and criticising Jesus.
They read, in Portuguese: “Thank you Cristiano Ronaldo for everything you did for Portugal. You will always be our captain.
“Jorge Jesus was not up to the task. Lack of sensitivity. Treating a captain wrongly. Inflated ego.”
One was placed next to the Estadio da Luz, home of Benfica – who Jesus managed to three league titles.
At the Denmark game, some fans wore T-shirts spelling out ‘Love you Jesus’ while others were head-to-toe in Ronaldo merch.
Denmark striker Rasmus Hojlund, incidentally, celebrated his goal with his idol Ronaldo’s trademark ‘siuuu’ something he has done previously when netting against Portugal.
Portugal’s newspapers had differing perspectives.
Meanwhile, videos were posted online of angry fans ripping up their Portugal jerseys.
Jesus and Proenca were booed leaving a building in Copenhagen.
But many foreign fans purely supported Portugal because of Ronaldo – so they do not necessarily represent the views of actual Portuguese supporters.
Portugal fan Maria Ribeiro, from Lisbon, said: “It is so hard for all us fans. We all love him but it is getting too much now. It is hard to imagine Portugal without Ronaldo but maybe this is the time. There is too much arguing between ourselves.”
Ronaldo’s search for a record 1,000 career goals remains on but will he have to finish that at club level in Saudi Arabia?
He has scored 979 times for Portugal, Sporting, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus and Al-Nassr.
While his old rival Messi scored eight goals, and assisted four more, to take Argentina to the summer World Cup final – Portugal fell at the last-16 stage.
Ronaldo’s former United team-mate Wayne Rooney added: “He is a genius, a superstar. What he has given to football and millions of people is something very rare.
In the last nine years of Ronaldo’s international career, Portugal’s win percentage without him is slightly better 64% to 63% and they have scored 2.7 goals a game without him compared to 2.1 with him.
The two biggest wins in their history – 9-0 over Luxembourg and 9-1 against Armenia – came in the last two qualifying matches that he missed, both through suspension.
Journalist Marcus Alves, who covers Portugal, said: “How much gratitude is enough? That’s a question that Portuguese fans have been asking for a few years now.
“Of Portugal’s last five coaches, Ronaldo had issues with four of them Carlos Queiroz, Paulo Bento, Fernando Santos and now Jesus. That’s too much of a distraction when Portugal has arguably their best generation ever.”
Former players of Bayelsa United on Wednesday donated a set of jerseys to the club to support their preparations for the 2026/27 Nigeria National League (NNL) season.
Presenting the jerseys to the club, leader of the players and former Chairman of Bayelsa United, Ebiki Timitimi, said the gesture was their little way of contributing to the club’s campaign in the NNL.
Timitimi said the former players remain committed to the growth and development of the club and appealed to critics to be constructive in their assessments.
“As ex-players of the club, we deemed it fit to support the team in our own little way.
We decided to give a set of jerseys to the club as they start their pre-season friendlies.“Everyone is entitled to their opinions, but we should criticise constructively by engaging the management to hear their side of the story before jumping to conclusions.
“Criticising them publicly without proper knowledge of the subject matter,” he added.
Receiving the jerseys on behalf of the Chairman, Peter Singabele and the Management Board, Godson Ekadi described the gesture as a significant show of solidarity from a key constituency of the club.
Ekadi said that the donation, the first major support from stakeholders ahead of the new season, will serve as a huge morale booster for the board, technical crew, and players.
“It is a wonderful statement that has been made today by the ex-players, because when you get support from your immediate constituency, it means that it’s going to be a wonderful season for us.
“Because this is the first gift we’re getting from stakeholders, and we’re calling on others to toe the line of the ex-players.
“It’s like our season has already started because of this gesture they have shown not only verbally, but also by giving a set of jerseys to the club,” he said.
He called on corporate organisations, stakeholders, and International Oil Companies (IOCs) operating in the state to emulate the ex-player
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