“Don’t be too quick to cast away players,” Colin Udoh advises.
Colin Udoh (photo, YouTube)
As criticism builds surrounding the Super Eagles World Cup squad, Nigerian journalist, Colin Udoh, says Nigeria football fans are ‘like kids.’ It’s the ‘fickle nature’ of Nigeria football fans, Udoh continues, “always looking to discard the old toy once a shiny new one pops into view.”
Nigeria is one of 32 nations that will compete in Russia during World Cup 2018. The Super Eagles are in group D along with Argentina, Iceland, and Croatia.
With less than two weeks to go before the kickoff in Russia, every country is finalizing the selection of their best players. Pre-tournament Friendly matches are the last part of that preparation. And on 2 June Nigeria lost 2:1 to England at Wembley Stadium in one of those pre-tournament games.
After that game, Nigerian football fans expressed much concern about the play of Onazi and Obi. Onazi admitted in a post-match interview that he had a bad game against the Three Lions. “I have to get better,” he said.
But fans question whether that will happen. “Onazi has been a flop since the qualifiers,” one fan posted on social media.
Udoh views that response as par for the course. “Players will have bad games, including the shiny new Nwakalis. Feel free to criticize them. Let them know they have to improve. But don’t be too quick to cast players away,” he said.
Udoh feels strongly that fans “must learn to get behind the players when they fall down and support them to get back up.”
When all is said, the reality is that Nigeria (like all Cup participants) will play at least three games in Russia during World Cup 2018. Let’s see how they do.
