Sunday Oliseh’s first real assignment as Super Eagles coach came with the qualification of the home-based Eagles for the 2016 African Nations Championship; he led the Eagles to a 2-0 aggregate win over Burkina Faso to qualify for the tournament. The Eagles beat the Stallions 2-0 in Port Harcourt on October 16, 2015 before playing 0-0 in Ouagadougou in the return leg, nine days later.
Nigeria came third at the 2014 CHAN in South Africa under former coach Stephen Keshi and with qualification secured, Nigerians expected Oliseh to go one place better – appear in the final of the tournament in Rwanda and possibly win it for the first time.
The Eagles were drawn in Group C along with Tunisia, Niger and Guinea. Prior to the kickoff of the tournament on January 16, the Nigerian team had a camp in South Africa where they played friendly matches against Angola, which they drew 1-1, and Ivory Coast, which they won 1-0.
On January 18, the Eagles began their campaign in Rwanda with a comprehensive 4-1 victory over Niger before they drew 1-1 with Tunisia four days later. With the team in a commanding position in the group with four points, Nigeria needed a draw with Guinea to progress to the quarter-finals of the tournament.
cont'd at The Punch
