This is Naija, where football lives: What we learnt from AFCON 2019

Here are the things we learnt from the month-long African Championship : 

Super Eagles Have A Lucky Day: Call us Fetish. It seems June 22nd is Naija’s lucky day. A year ago, the Eagles were up against an Iceland team that drew their first game against a Messi-led Argentina. The team had lost its first game against eventual finalist: Croatia. 

Thus the Iceland game on the 22nd of June 2018 was a must-win. Ahmed Musa came up with the goods In that game. A year later, (same June 22nd ) the Eagles played their first AFCON game in six years, they needed a win to send a message of intent which they did. It was not all rosy though the three times African champions probed until the 77th minute before they got the needed goal. it's safe to say we need to ask FIFA and CAF to fix all the team’s important games on the 22nd of June.

June 22nd is Eagles day!

Nigerians Will Always Love Their National Team: Despite concerns over the team’s readiness for the continental showpiece, Nigerians trooped out en masse to support the Eagles. Although the Eagles failed to make it to the final, they rewarded the fans for their unwavering support with a bronze medal.

Super Eagles: Next Gen Will Soon Take Over. Emerging talents like Samuel Chukwueze, Ola Aina, Alex Iwobi, and Wilfred Ndidi shone like a million stars during this tournament.

While the older stars like Mikel and Ighalo drew the curtain on an illustrious national team career, these young ‘uns are staking their claim to the national team. It was Aina’s outrageous backheel pass that set up Ighalo for his goal for the first goal and Moses Simon did likewise for Omeruo in the second game while Chukwueze did a number on South Africa. The fans are more than happy and optimistic for the future with the young talents that abound in the team.

TIN Fan Parks Becoming a Mini Stadia: For the sake of those who don't what TIN is (You donno Wahiz going on). TIN is an acronym for “ This Is Naija”. They are fan parks set up across the country by MTN during international tournament such as this. They have become the go-to places to watch matches and get the stadium vibe without actually been in the stadium. This started last year during the world cup and now the fans got the same treatment.Look out for these fan parks during subsequent tournaments. 

Pidgin Commentary winning the hearts of Naija Football fans: Osha Pra Pra Pra Issa goal that's a trademark exclamation that came out of this nations cup. The pidgin commentator on your TV screen throughout the tournament is probably one of the tournament’s MVP. He goes by the name MVP Sawadinho. This guy should be the commentator for some EPL matches so Naija fans can continue to enjoy his amazing pidgin commentary. 

Pragmatic Algeria Deserved the Trophy: The Algerians were a very compact team during the tournament. Not too adventurous but taking their chances when they get them. That's what is really required to win a cup competition. Algeria applied this approach and they deserve to be champions.

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