Where to next for Nigeria after World Cup failure?

When Umar Sadiq replaced Calvin Bassey with two minutes of normal time remaining on Tuesday, you could already sense the desperation.

Augustine Eguavoen was essentially throwing the kitchen sink at Ghana hoping to secure an all-important goal that would have been enough to ensure the three-time African champions’ participation in Qatar.

At the time, Nigeria had no less than three centre-forwards on the pitch, with the Almeria frontman joining Victor Osimhen and Odion Ighalo as the hosts chased a decisive goal to complete a turnaround.

Throw in Moses Simon — who replaced Ademola Lookman on the hour — and Ahmed Musa — who was introduced for Peter Etebo in the final quarter — and the Super Eagles had no less than five forwards on the pitch at the final whistle.

Caution was thrown out the window but without any sensible plan of really breaking down the Black Stars’ defence. It reflects badly on Nigeria’s coaching crew whose broader approach and in-game decisions have left much to be desired.

Long-suffering supporters endured the final 18 months of Gernot Rohr’s reign but seemingly are not close to seeing a talented group of players play consistently well. The 2021 Africa Cup of Nations offered promise, with Eguavoen’s troops claiming maximum points from their opening group games.

However, their elimination at Afcon and the double-header against Ghana look to suggest those wins over Egypt, Sudan and Guinea-Bissau were false dawns.

What rankles even more than the results in those games are the performances, which fell way short of the talent of the side. Rohr, while largely meeting minimum targets, could not get this group to evolve into a dominant, well-coached side. Eguavoen has inherited the same issues and his team seems