I saw Eagles’ failure coming, says Onigbinde

Former Super Eagles coach Adegboye Onigbinde says the team’s failure to qualify for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon is ‘unfortunate’.

Eagles lost 0-1 to the Pharaohs of Egypt in the double header reverse fixture clash on Tuesday at the Borg El-Arab Stadium in Alexandria.

Ramadan Sobhi pounced on a loose ball inside the area with a right-footed shot that deceived the Nigeria’s goalkeeper, Daniel Akpeyi, to roll into the net in the 64th minute.

The defeat means that Nigeria now trail five points behind the seven-time African champions with an inconsequential match to spare against the Taifa Stars of Tanzania.

Onigbinde said the defeat to the Egyptians had been there for decades as it will be wrong to blame the present crop of coaches and players.

“It’s really unfortunate we eventually lost the crucial Afcon encounter to the Pharaohs of Egypt, but we did not lose the match this evening. It was a loss of decades ago.

“We have consistently failed in our developmental programmes, thus, we continue to insult Nigerians and that’s what makes me angry and annoyed.

“That’s why we pin our hopes on the foreign-based players to win matches for us. “How do you explain a situation where we have key matches and the players arrived on Tuesday to play on Friday?

“With players coming from Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, CSKA, among others leagues, how do you groom the players to build a team in less than 48 hours.

‘Team members are supposed to behave and think alike as well as perform as one man but ours are a group of players.

“I think anyone that decides to blame the present coaches and players for the unfortunate result are not being fair.

“Today’s (Tuesday) result is one of the results we have planned to achieve way back in the days.

“I’m not happy with the result but not disappointed as we saw it coming. We have depended on mere wishes and as it’s said if wishes were horses beggars will ride,” Onigbinde told superspor.com.

Tuesday’s victory against the Nigerians has handed the Egyptians the Group G automatic spot to 2017 Afcon final in Gabon with a match to play against Tanzania.