Friday Ekpo: Nigerians should forget Aiyegbeni’s missed goal at 2010 World Cup
Former Nigeria midfielder, Friday Ekpo, has spoken in support of ex-Super Eagles forward, Yakubu Aiyegbeni, that he will not beg Nigerians for the goal he missed during the FIFA World Cup duel against South Korea in South Africa.
Nigerians had expected an outright victory in that match but unfortunately, Aiyegbeni’s last-minute effort couldn’t deliver the joker.
Just In: I will NOT apologize to Nigerians for the open goal I missed at the 2010 FIFA World Cup Group B match against South Korea. — Yakubu Aiyegbeni. 😒😪
📸Source: Instablog & NationTV. This is the goal he missed 😭😭😭pic.twitter.com/tfekddlbVc
— 𝘼. 𝙄. 𝙈. Ⓜ 👨🏽🚀 ✈ (@AimThaMachine_) January 27, 2021
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Since then Nigerians have yet to forgive Aiyegbeni for that ‘great miss’.
Nigeria were drawn alongside Argentina, Greece and South Korea in Group B of the first World Cup to take place in Africa.
Super Eagles started their campaign on a disappointing note, losing to Argentina. Lost 2-1 to Greece in the second game despite scoring first.
Despite losing their first two matches, Nigeria went into the third group game against South Korea with a chance to qualify for the next round.
The Super Eagles only needed a win with the hope that Argentina beat Greece in the other group game. While Argentina played their part, Nigeria could only manage a 2-2 draw against the Koreans.
When asked during a segment of the interview if he would like to apologise to Nigerians on the issue, Aiyegbeni said: “I won’t apologise at all. Why should I? I’ve scored so many goals for Nigeria too. I have sacrificed a lot for the country. Did anyone apologise to me? It was not a deliberate miss. I seriously wanted to score, but it wasn’t to be.”
Reacting to Aiyegbeni’s statement on The Nation TV, Ekpo said Nigerians should learn how to forget things that occurred over a decade ago and think about positive things for Nigerian football.
“2010 is over ten years. Nigerians should leave Aiyegbeni alone. Great footballers always miss unpardonable goals and heaven did not fall. In football, nobody is above the mistake and the miss wasn’t intentional. He played the ball well but it didn’t just enter the net. People should learn how to forgive and forget. I was expecting Nigerians to be more concerned about Aiyegbeni after his football career. They did not even care to know how he is surviving with his family,” Ekpo told Sportinglife. ng on phone.