The Nigeria B team popularly referred to as CHAN Eagles failed to qualify for the 2020 Africa Nations Championship as their 2-0 win over Togo wasn’t enough to overturn the 1-4 loss they suffered in the first leg played in Lome.
Sikiru Alimi scored a brace but it was insufficient as they crashed out on a 3-4 aggregate score and Owngoalnigeria.com takes a look at the four possible reasons why the team failed to progress to the tournament.
1. Poor Defence – Many will agree that the team lost the chance to qualify due to the heavy 1-4 loss away from home and that was simply down to the defence. They conceded goals that could have been avoided and paid the ultimate price in the second leg.
2. Wasteful In Attack – The team started the game against Togo by scoring early but despite having numerous chances to kill the game off as a contest, they were guilty of wasting chances that would have made the difference. The duo of Sikiru Alimi and Sunusi Ibrahim were the guilty of squandering begging chances.
3. No League Football – As strange as it may sound the fact that the players have been on break for close to four months since the end of the Nigeria Professional Football League ( NPFL) it’s only normal to factor the late start of the league as part of the reason behind the team’s failure as most of the players are yet to play a minute of competitive football for months bar those who took part in CAF organised competitions.
4. Lack Of Incentives From The NFF – The financially handicapped Nigeria Football Federation ( NFF) didn’t do enough in terms of motivation to the team as their allowances according to most of the players weren’t paid. That affected the moral of the squad before the game.
