I CAN IMAGINE some readers muttering under their breath after reading my headline: “Mumini has come again with his wahala! Everybody is praising the Flying Eagles for a wonderful showing in Colombia, but here he is putting a question mark on their performance. Let’s find out what the problem is this time.”

Well, I’m sorry to disappoint anyone thinking like I’ve painted above. I don’t have any problem with the Flying Eagles at all. In fact, I agree with most Nigerian soccer fans that the boys did their very best and made us proud at the on-going FIFA Under-20 World Cup. It was just unfortunate that they ran into a better French team and got knocked out in the quarter-finals. So, why am I raising  a question mark on the team’s “gallantry” nevertheless? I will answer that presently.

I arrived from my vacation right on the eve of the tournament kick-off and I watched how John Obuh’s boys thrashed Guatemala 5-0, Croatia 5-2 and a very impressive Saudi Arabia 2-0 in their first round games. The Eagles weren’t as dominant in their second round game against an ultra-defensive England, but they won 1-0 anyway to qualify for the quarter-finals.

By this time, the Eagles had won over virtually every critic, and expectations were quite high that they could win the trophy. Chief Segun Odegbami who had been a strindent critic of over-aged players parading themselves in our age-grade national teams was willing to “tolerate” the “mature-looking” Flying Eagles this time and said he simply loved their wing play.

Another die-hard critic, Godwin Dudu-Orumen, was completely overwhelmed by the speed and power of the team and told me in a telephone conversation that the boys were ready to take their places in the Super Eagles immediately.

Taye Ige of Hotsports also waxed lyrical about the team’s efficiency in front of goal. For me, I was just happy that the Flying Eagles were playing like a truly African team and bossing their opponents with their power and pace. We all believed; every Nigerian believed that we had a team to bet on until the French crashed the party in the quarter-final.

When my publisher, Dr. Sunny Obazu-Ojeagbase, called me to ask how the game would likely go, I told him I hadn’t seen the French team play but, as European champions, they were going to be difficult to handle. I added, however, that whatever happens, I just prayed that Nigeria would win.

True, I didn’t see our defeat coming, but with the benefit of hindsight, it’s clear why we lost the game.

One, the French neutralized the “power” of the Flying Eagles by also parading some equally strong “Under-20” players. Whereas, we could easily knock the “aje-butter” Guatemalans off the ball with a simple shoulder charge, the French parading several players with African heritage were as strong as oxen and couldn’t be bulldozed.

Two, the afternoon kick-off under the Colombian sun seriously handicapped the Eagles from doing their usual tireless running. Most of our previous games had been  played at night when the weather was cool and star player Ahmed Musa could run the likes of Croatia aground. Against France, however, it was glaring that our boys were dog-tired by half-time under the scorching sun.

The French players coped better with the weather because they were more cohesive, they had better ball possession and they conserved energy by playing a passing game which left the ball to do most of the running. During extra time, they were still sharper and faster to the ball even when they held a two-goal lead.

Three, and most decisive, Nigeria lost because we met a technically superior team. Following our fortuitous last-second equalizer for 1-1 in normal time, the Flying Eagles should have started extra time with a psychological edge and a great spirit. But it was the French, downcast from conceding a late goal, who picked themselves up quickly and imposed themselves again by going up 3-1. Our boys showed some fighting spirit to cut the lead back to 3-2, but they didn’t have enough stamina left to complete another fight-back.

So, back to my headline: How truly gallant are these Flying Eagles? I would say they were gallant to the extent that they gave Nigerians something to cheer while their run in the competition lasted. They were gallant because they recorded the best overall statistics amongst all the 24 teams at the end of the first round; they breached an England defence that had not conceded any goal before they met; they were the only African team to reach the quarter-finals; they had the best disciplinary record in the whole competition; and they were such good Nigerian ambassadors that the Colombian fans adopted them following the exit of the home team.

Beyond all those positives, however, the hard fact is that the Flying Eagles were not good enough to be world champions; and most of the players are probably not good enough to make the big leap to the Super Eagles as many observers had initially speculated.

One person who probably saw ahead what most people did not see about the Flying Eagles was John Mastoroudes. Before the game against France, Mastoroudes called me to express his fear that Nigerians were getting ahead of themselves again. He said: “Mumini, I have been following the progress of the Flying Eagles in Colombia. Truly, their performance looks impressive but I’m afraid that Nigerian fans are raising their expectations too high concerning this team. I hear people calling them “world beaters”, but I’m sorry to say that I can’t see it. Their victories are a good morale booster, but I’m concerned that there’s a big false impression that we have arrived, whereas we are not anywhere close yet to world standard. I want the fans to enjoy the moment, but I’m afraid that they may soon be disappointed.”

That was Mastoroudes talking to me BEFORE France decisioned the Flying Eagles.

Where am I going with all of this? It’s simple: the Flying Eagles have landed and the rest of us, too, should simply come back down to earth. A few of the players like the horse-strong Abdul Ajagun may be graduated to the senior team, but for most of them, there’s still a lot to learn before they can perform at the highest level.

To round off, I salute the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) for arranging a good preparation for the team, and coach John Obuh for demonstrating that there’s merit in steady progression after being promoted from the Under-17 Golden Eaglets two years ago. We cannot win all the time, but we must draw lessons from our defeats to help us do better next time.

FIFA Youth World Cup

I HAVE decided not  refer to the FIFA Under-20 World Cup as such anymore. The issue of over-aged players at these age-grade competitions has been over-flogged and, rather than re-open the subject, I have resolved simply to rename the “Under-20” World Cup as the FIFA Youth World Cup.

That way, we remove the moral burden of referring to 30-year-old players as Under-20. A footballer can still be a “youth” at 40!

Happy To Be Back

WHEN I announced that I was going on break last month, a reader sent me a text message threatening to also “go on break from Complete Sports” unless I cancelled my vacation plans. I had to beg him to hold the fort for me while I was away.

Well, it’s nice to be back and, where relevant, I hope to share some of my vacation experiences with you in the weeks ahead. Yes, your favourite
SOCCERTALK is back.

Thanks for holding the fort . Ramadan Kareem.