Shocking Collapse in Bissau: Toothless Super Eagles Humiliated 3-0 by Clinical Guinea-Bissau
The Super Eagles of Nigeria saw their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying momentum come to a grinding halt, delivering an atrocious performance in a 3-0 defeat to Guinea-Bissau at the Estádio Nacional 24 de Setembro.
Coming off a 2-1 comeback victory against Madagascar in Uyo—where debutant George Ilenikhena and Moses Usor overturned an early Ehsan Kari opener—Nigeria entered the encounter with high expectations.
However, head coach Eric Chelle opted to tweak his starting eleven, making three key changes: Bright Osayi-Samuel, Frank Onyeka, and Taiwo Awoniyi stepped in for Ola Aina, Samuel Chukwueze, and Ilenikhena.
The adjustments backfired as Nigeria delivered a disorganised, sluggish performance from the opening whistle.
Guinea-Bissau, riding high on confidence following an impressive 2-0 away win over Tanzania, started on the front foot. Nigeria had a brief early chance when Alex Iwobi picked out Ademola Lookman in the 13th minute, but the forward’s tame effort failed to trouble the host’s goalkeeper.
Two minutes later, the hosts capitalized on Nigeria’s defensive vulnerability. A long pass from Renato Nhaga picked out Franculino Djú inside the Nigerian half. Djú effortlessly bypassed Bruno Onyemaechi before curling a brilliant strike past Calvin Bassey and goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali to put Guinea-Bissau ahead.
Nigeria collapsed defensively following the opener, looking thoroughly rattled and fortunate not to concede further before the halftime interval.
Chelle attempted to restore balance at the break by bringing on Moses Simon and Moses Usor. The pair immediately found themselves with chances inside the 18-yard box, but back-to-back miskicks summarized Nigeria’s frustrating evening.
Any hopes of a Super Eagles comeback were dashed shortly after. Mamadi Camara received a pass from Mama Baldé, waltzed through the porous Nigerian defense, and slotted a low curler into the net, leaving Nwabali helpless.
Deep into injury time, the nightmare was fully realized. Álvaro Djaló embarked on a solo run through Nigeria’s midfield and defense before firing beyond Nwabali to seal a emphatic 3-0 victory for the hosts.
With only the top team from each group guaranteed a ticket to the 2027 tournament, Nigeria’s qualifying hopes have hit an immediate roadblock.
Coming on the heels of their failure to qualify for the World Cup, the Super Eagles find themselves in familiar, troubled waters—leaving fans with no excuses for a performance that was as poor in quality as it was on the scoreboard.
