TheCable

The stage is now set for the all-important FIFA World Cup 2018 qualification game between longtime rivals; the Super Eagles of Nigeria and the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon.

This is, without doubt, the toughest game to be played by the Nigerian senior national team in 2017, one which the Super Eagles have no choice than to win.

Draw is not an option

They simply must defeat Cameroon to ensure qualification for the World Cup.

After the Super Eagles suffered a shocking home defeat to South Africa, many Nigerians are apprehensive ahead of today’s ‘mother of all battles’.

And rightly so, because the loss to the Bafana Bafana exposed how vulnerable the Eagles are, considering how they were easily beaten by a country they hadn’t lost to in decades.

The defeat will certainly serve as a wake-up call as Cameroon, African champions, come calling. Ahead of the game, the players have assured Nigerians of victory, while underscoring the importance of qualifying for the World Cup.

Different setup

Unlike the Super Eagles team that lost to South Africa, this team can boast of its most experienced players, including captain John Mikel Obi, the likes of Odion Ighalo, Victor Moses, and Aaron Samuel.

Owing to the array of experience and talent on offer, Nigerians can perhaps be forgiven for being hopeful that the Eagles can deliver and defeat the African champions.

But of course, the Lions are not a team to be taken for granted. The Cameroonian team brushed aside all opponents to win the African Cup of Nations, but their easy capitulation at the Confederations Cup revealed their weak points.

A win for the Eagles makes it a huge step in their quest to qualify for the World Cup. With six points in two games already in the bag, Nigeria will be almost home and dry with another three points.

Cameroon will have no choice but to come all out because even a draw will look like a defeat for the Lions, thereby giving the Eagles the opportunity of counter-attack.

What it means to Nigerians

This game is more important than making history or earning bragging rights in a football rivalry spanning decades. The Eagles owe Nigerians, especially after their inability to qualify for the recent African Nation’s Cup, and of course, the loss to South Africa.

Although the players appear confident of their prospects, it will definitely be a tough, tense, winner takes all game and the Eagles cannot afford to drop any of the vital three points on offer.