By Onochie Anibeze
England Vs Nigeria
Kingsley Onye landed in London to treat his injured leg. It didn’t go well for the ex international and Fashanu helped him resettle in London. He was a good player and I always reached out to him any time I was in London. In 1994 on our way to Wembly Stadium to watch England Vs Nigeria he said the following to me. “If Eagles will win it could be 2-1 and if it will be a draw it could be 1-1. England could win, I don’t know but expect a goal from David Platt. Surely, David Platt will score and he is going to do that with a header. He is not tall but he towers above tall defenders and his nodding is perfect.”
Super Eagles
Onye was prophetic. But he played the game to a high level and he was following it in London. A corner kick and David Platt superbly nodded the ball in. It was the only goal of the match. And that was the last time Nigeria played England in a friendly match. Their meeting in the Japan World Cup ended goalless but England had already qualified and Nigeria were already out of the group, having lost two matches. If England needed the match to qualify the result could probably be different. I see the same setting today when Nigeria play England at the prestigious Wembley.
The twin towers have been pulled down and Wembley is no longer what it used to be – the greatest and most revered soccer shrine in the world. Then, only England matches and the FA Cup final were played there. The best players in the world looked forward to playing at Wembley.
And many who retired said their greatest regret in football was not having the opportunity to play at Wembley. While covering Euro ’96 which England hosted I remember an English man near Brixton Station adoring me at that moment because I was going to watch a game at Wembley. Repeatedly he asked “you’re going to Wembley?”. When I showed him my media accreditation and the ticket for the England Vs Scotland match he beckoned on his friends in the caffe to see a guy going to Wembley for the game. He was repeating “he’s got ticket for the game at Wembley.”
On the train I met a group of Scots singing “Wembley Wembley, We’re going to Wembley.” They were fans going for the game. It was not only about the game but also the historic citadel called Wembley. All that has changed now and Tottenham even play their league matches there. The reconstruction of the stadium, in a way, diminished the symbol as the historic football shrine. But the beauty still makes it a huge spectacle. And today our Eagles may add to the spectacle on the pitch if not on the aesthetics.
The pitch is lush green and perfect for the Eagles to express themselves. They will. They always do against England even if they don’t win. The London newspapers were awash with the scintillating ball possession and skills of the Eagles in that match their team won in 1994. Their inability to entertain the way the Brazilians and Nigerians did became the discourse until I returned home.
However, today’s Eagles can’t boast of the flair of Okocha, Mutiu Adepoju, Sunday Oliseh, Samson Siasia, Thompson Oliha and the resilience of the likes of Chidi Nwanu, Austin Eguavoen, Uche Okechukwu, Stephen Keshi, Ben Iroha etc. They even lack goal tenders in the class of Peter Rufai, Willy Agbonibavre and Alloy Agu.
What with the runs of Amokachi and Yekini? Times have changed. It is same with England. They don’t have the likes of David Platt who would always score in almost every match even as a midfielder. They don’t have Allan Shearer who averaged a goal a match after the likes of Platt quit the scene.
They do not have Paul Ince who was delighted but the sounds of cracking bone. I may not describe their team today as great neither will I say so of the Eagles. But I think they all have good teams to entertain us tonight. The two sides will be cautious to avoid injuries as the World Cup is days away.
England will not be as physical as Congo that showed Eagles were still work in progress. But the pitch in Porthacourt was terrible. Eagles may play better today even if they don’t win. But winning the World Cup as many have said will be an uphill task.
I wish they could but truth is that we are not there yet. If they qualify from their group in Russia I will celebrate. And I say this with all sense of responsibility and someone in the game and not just a fan who is always dreaming of a certain Alice in a wonderland