Nigeria’s defensive frailties have come under intense scrutiny following the Super Eagles’ narrow 3-2 victory over Tunisia in their final Group B match at the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco on Saturday.
Despite securing qualification to the round of 16, the manner of the victory has sparked fierce debate among supporters and analysts, with the team’s persistent inability to maintain clean sheets raising serious concerns about their championship credentials.
Goals from Victor Osimhen, Wilfried Ndidi and Ademola Lookman appeared to have put the three-time African champions in cruise control before a dramatic late collapse saw Tunisia claw back two goals, exposing alarming defensive lapses that have now become a worrying pattern.
Statistics paint a grim picture of Nigeria’s defensive record. According to Opta Nigeria, the Super Eagles have failed to keep a clean sheet in five consecutive matches and have conceded in each of their last four AFCON fixtures.
The numbers have done little to calm frayed nerves among the Nigerian faithful, many of whom took to social media to express their frustrations.
“Defence is the Achilles heel of the present Super Eagles, same reason they will be watching the World Cup at home,” wrote OluDee, a concerned supporter.
“I can say emphatically that they can’t win this AFCON. A gentle breeze of attack on that defence and they will crumble like a pack of cards.”
Others were equally scathing in their assessment of the backline’s performance.
“The Super Eagles defence is so poor, very poor, they can’t even make split decisions and are so slow to balls,” Obi posted on X.
Goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali has emerged as a particular flashpoint in the post-match discourse, with several observers questioning his command of the penalty area and ability to deal with aerial balls.
“Nwabali remains a big issue, very poor collecting crosses, we definitely need another GK,” BöD£ wrote, despite praising the team’s attacking display.
Another fan, Deco, pinpointed a costly error by the goalkeeper as the turning point in the match: “Super Eagles were balling and controlling the game until Nwabali’s mistake, now see the way Tunisia players are mounting serious pressure on our defence.”
While some supporters disputed the validity of Tunisia’s penalty award, the consensus remains that defensive improvements are non-negotiable if Nigeria harbour genuine ambitions of lifting the trophy.
“There’s something wrong with Super Eagles defence. To concede two goals after scoring three is worrisome,” Ìmọlẹ observed.
“Definitely going far in this tournament, the core of the focus should be the defence line as scoring has not always been the problem.”
The Super Eagles will have little time to address these concerns as they prepare for a round of 16 encounter against Uganda on Tuesday evening. Kick-off is scheduled for 5pm.
Whether coach [coach’s name if known] can shore up the defence while maintaining the attacking verve that has produced goals remains the critical question as Nigeria’s AFCON campaign enters its knockout phase.