By our reporter
Nigeria would be shooting herself on the foot if she does not prepare the Super Eagles properly by organizing all aspects needed to win Thursday’s crucial World Cup playoff against the Panthers of similarly oil-rich Gabon.
This is because some neutrals,having assessed the dimensions to preparations as well as how both teams organize their play, believe Gabon will win the match.
Instructively, the belief is coming amid reports that the Super Eagles refused to train on Tuesday in Rabat, Morocco, the match venue, in protest at a backlog of allowances being owed them.
One of the allowances is said to be owed for a period of time stretching into years even.
Apparently latching onto this lapse and the effect on player morale, former Burkinabe international Alain Traoré has said that “Gabon has a better organization” compared to Nigeria.
According to the English translation of a report by the Gabonese Press Agency (GPA), monitored by People&Politics, Traore is confident that the Super Eagles will be beaten by the Panthers.
Invited to the show Talents d’Afrique (TDA), broadcast every Monday on Canal+ Sport 1, Traoré gave his opinion on the match between Gabon and Nigeria.
While it appeared that the former AJ Auxerre player does not seem to follow the current trend, which places Nigeria as clear favourite for the match, he pointed to team organization as being crucial.
“Gabon has a better organization compared to what we saw during the group stage,” said Traoré.
“Gabon has some strengths in terms of content. Apart from Nigeria’s last match where Osimhen scored a hat trick against Benin, Nigeria hasn’t shown much. They have some talented individuals, but Gabon has a team capable of competing with many African teams,” he later argued.
Gabon coach Thierry Mouyouma had told AGP that he “wants to have control of the match and make Nigeria chase the ball.”
*PHOTO CAPTION: Traore.
