Former Nigeria international Dimeji Lawal has criticised the Super Eagles following their disappointing 3-0 defeat to Guinea-Bissau in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, Footynaija.com reports.
Nigeria suffered a heavy defeat in Bissau on Tuesday, with Franculino Dju, Mama Balde and Alvaro Djalo finding the net as the hosts moved to the top of Group L.
The result has sparked reactions from different quarters, with Lawal questioning Nigeria’s approach to player recruitment and the quality of some of the players currently representing the national team.
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He argued that the demands of African football are different from what players experience in European football, insisting that this has contributed to some of the Super Eagles’ struggles.
“We have too many overhyped players and a country that goes after every foreign-born, once we see players with Nigerian names we run after them,” Lawal said in quotes revealed by Complete Sports.
“We are talking about African football which is quite different from European football, that’s one of the basic problems we’ve been having and will continue to have.”
Lawal then pointed to former Nigeria stars Austin Okocha and Daniel Amokachi as examples of players who, in his view, had a stronger grounding in African football before making their mark in Europe.
The former midfielder believes Nigeria’s current approach of pursuing players with Nigerian heritage who were born and developed abroad does not necessarily guarantee success on the continent.
“In the days of Austin Okocha, Daniel Amokachi, they had an African football background before mixing it with European football.
“But what do we have now, we are just after players who have never set their legs on our soil to come and play African football, you think African football is easy?”
Lawal’s comments come after Nigeria failed to recover from an early setback against Guinea-Bissau, suffering their first defeat of the AFCON 2027 qualifying campaign. The Super Eagles will now have to regroup ahead of their next qualifiers after dropping three vital points in Bissau.
