Eagles seek to force smiles on Nigerians faces again
Eagles seek to force smiles on Nigerians faces again, close to eight months of lock down no thanks to the coronavirus pandemic
They have always been a source of happiness for many Nigerians especially when they win.
The pitch has rather been very quiet no thanks to coronavirus pandemic which seized the world in the jugular.
Sports activities and even business and social life hit all-time low since March and so sports fans have had to seek other ways of catching fun if any. Nigerians known for their love for football found themselves struggling to smile amidst lockdown made worst by crumbling economy.
With gradual but cautious re-opening of events and especially with the return of the English Premier league and other leagues across the globe Nigerian fans like their counterparts elsewhere have heaved a sigh of relief as opportunity comes calling to watch players showcase their skills once more.
Though matches are still played behind closed doors but the mere fact that they are able to see clips, follow online and some on television is certainly better the total lock down.
Even at that some believe it is only when they national team reassemble and again show what they are made of that the real gradually re-opening can be felt.
And so tomorrow at 7.30pm the Super Eagles will file out against their Algerian counterparts, The Fennecs or Desert Foxes if you like at the at the Jacques Lemans Arena in Austria.
It will be the first match the Eagles will be playing in about eight months of the lockdown. The friendly will shape the team ahead of their qualifiers against Sierra Leone in November.
Prior to the COVID-19 lockdown, the Gernot Rohr tutored side had won their last three games out of five played between Sept. 22 and Nov. 19 in 2019 beating Togo 2-0, Benin Republic 2-1 and Lesotho 4-2, safe to say they were on a cruise control before the lockdown.
At the Nations Cup in Egypt eventual Champions Algeria did not only beat the Eagles 2-1 in the semifinal, but also went ahead to beat Senegal in the final to earn their second Nations Cup title haven won the first won close to a decade back.
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An encounter between the Eagles and the Fennecs any day is always a battle no doubt. This is a friendly agreed but the two teams have one thing to prove.
The Fennecs would want to prove that they are still in the killer shape that earned then the title in Egypt and the Eagles would want to prove that the fighting spirit that was only punctuated by last minute Riyad Mahrez free kick in Egypt is still there and even better the impact of Covid-19 notwithstanding. Bienvenue aux super aigles