This is Naija where football lives: The kings of bronze impressive third place finish at AFCON 2019

Pulse Mix 09:58 - 06 August 2019

Karma hardly disappoints. The Super Eagles flew over the Bafana Bafana of South Africa in game-day 5 (quarter-final) albeit in a theatrical and entertaining way.

With the tie locked at 1-1 and with little less than 3 minutes left in the game. William Troost-Ekong took advantage of an error by his namesake on the opposing team; William, the goalkeeper of South Africa. 2-1 the game ended as a result of that last gap stunner.

Fans at the now-famous ‘This Is Naija’ fan park in Uyo walked with springs in their steps; leaping for joy: Their favourite team had made them proud, especially against South Africa. The game qualifies for an African derby.

With a semi-final ticket secured, the Eagles 🦅 flapped their wings waiting to perch on either the Elephants of Côte d’Ivoire 🇨🇮 or the Desert Foxes of Algeria.

The latter was the case. The desert foxes stunned the Eagles giving them a dose of their own medicine: the foxes knocked the Eagles off their perch at the death through a Riyad Mahrez thumping free-kick.

This is Naija where football lives: The kings of bronze impressive third place finish at AFCON 2019

It was a difficult pill to swallow for fans of the Eagles, especially fans who had made the This Is Naija fan park in Port Harcourt their haven for matches all through the tournament. Gutted and heartbroken, the fans went to sleep on a cold Sunday evening. Their darling Eagles quest for gold in the ancient land of the Pyramids had come to an End.

Our Eagles had one more battle to conquer, this time, a battle they were familiar with and one they’ve never lost in 7 attempts: The fight for bronze at the premier African competition.

But first, they had to battle it out with their opponents from the Eagle kingdom: The Cartage Eagles of Tunisia.

The fight of the Eagles started with aplomb as the Eagles from Nigeria were 1 goal up within the first three minutes. One fan at the This is Naija fan park in Enugu exclaimed after Ighalo’s goal, “When two Eagles fight for air na the one wey big pass dey win.”

This is Naija where football lives: The kings of bronze impressive third place finish at AFCON 2019

What he meant by this is that the Nigerian Eagle is “Superior” to Tunisia’s. This allusion held true as the Super Eagles dominated proceedings right from the start.

At the end of 90 mins, the Super Eagles restated their dominance as they claimed the bronze medal in this year’s AFCON, making it the 8th time the Eagles will be crowned with this particular medal in as many appearances.

While it was not what they aimed for, the Eagles should be proud of the 3rd place finish. The fans were pleased because they demonstrated the strength of an Eagle throughout the tournament and also made the rest of Africa know that #ThisIsNaija and football lives in the country.

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