Super Eagles forward Akor Adams has identified what Nigeria must improve as they look to recover from their disappointing defeat to Guinea-Bissau in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign, Soccernet.ng reports.
Nigeria suffered a shock 3-0 loss to the Djurtus in their last outing on Tuesday, dealing a major blow to their hopes of qualifying for the 2027 AFCON tournament in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda.
Franculino Dju, Mama Baldé and Álvaro Djaló scored for the home side as Eric Chelle’s team suffered their heaviest-ever defeat in AFCON qualifying and their biggest competitive loss to an African country since 1990.
The Super Eagles had previously edged past Madagascar 2-1 in their opening game, with debutants George Ilenikhena and Moses Usor, who also became the fastest Nigerian substitute to score on his international debut, scoring to complete a comeback victory.
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However, the poor performance against Guinea-Bissau has left Nigeria three points behind the Djurtus, with four games remaining to rescue their qualifying campaign and avoid another major setback following their failure to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Akor Adams explains what went wrong against Guinea-Bissau
The Super Eagles went into the game as heavy favourites but were completely outplayed by Guinea-Bissau as they suffered one of the most disappointing results of the campaign.
Adams, who featured in both qualifying games, admitted that Nigeria failed to perform at their best but insisted that the players have taken responsibility and are already working on correcting their mistakes.
“I think there are many factors that happened in the game, but it’s not a game we should lose, and we have to take responsibility for that. We have taken responsibility for it”, the Venezia striker said.
“It’s a game we prepared very well for. We knew how important it was to us in the qualification phase. But looking back, we are already making corrections to what happened in the game. In the game of football, we were on the bad side on that day as a group and as a team.
“We know our possibilities and how good we can be when we are at our best. But that wasn’t our best day. It’s something we have to take responsibility for.”
There were also concerns about the poor condition of the pitch ahead of the match. However, Adams refused to use the pitch as an excuse for their poor performance.
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“I think a good pitch should be a bare minimum for African football. We all know this. I’m not making any excuses, and I would not make excuses”, he added.
“We are professionals, and we should know that there are a lot of things that come with the game. The weather, the referee, whatever the circumstances, we should be able to find our way.
“But a good pitch should be the bare minimum for how big African football is, and that was not the case on that day.”
What Super Eagles must now do to qualify
The defeat has left Nigeria in a difficult position and they can no longer afford to drop more points if they want to keep their qualification hopes on track.
Adams believes the Super Eagles have learnt from their mistakes and make sure they perform at the highest level.
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“We have already set the standards very high. So, living up to that standard is what we wake up to do every day as the Super Eagles.
“For me, that’s one thing we should do going into the next games. We are aware of the standards, and we should live up to them.
“The captain was pissed at us, and I can understand from his point. Many of the boys were not happy. They were completely devastated after coming away from a long trip without taking anything back home in an important qualification game”, Adams explained further.
“There are still games to go, but with qualifications, we try our best in this generation not to be in a place where we need another team to either do good or do bad so we can qualify.
“But we fell short against Guinea-Bissau, and we understand better now. We will make sure we come out good.
“When we play for our clubs, if you play on Sunday and it doesn’t go well, you look to play on Wednesday if there is a game, so you can recuperate and bounce back as quickly as possible.”
Russia test up next
Nigeria will now turn their attention to Russia as they look to put the disappointment of the Guinea-Bissau defeat behind them.
The Super Eagles will face the European side at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium on Tuesday and Adams has backed the team, including the new faces in the camp, to put up a strong performance.
“For us now, there are a lot of new boys in camp. I’m happy for them, and congratulations to those who are going to make their debut in advance.
“It’s still the Super Eagles and we know what we stand for. The coach has made it clear that we are here to try our best to win.
“Russia is a very good team as well, and I think they are very hungry to play games because of their peculiar situation.
“For us, it is about giving our best. I know Nigerians are watching, they love football a lot and they love the Super Eagles”, he concluded.
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The Super Eagles will hope to use the Russia friendly as an opportunity to regain confidence and build momentum ahead of their remaining AFCON 2027 qualifying matches.
