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Dosu Joseph, Akeem Ogunlade lament Olympic Eagles U23 AFCON ouster
By Oyediji Oluwaseun Babatunde
Former Nigeria internationals Dosu Joseph and Akeem Ogunlade have described as unbelievable the failure of the country’s absence from consecutive Olympics’ men football following the 2023 U-23 African Cup of Nations ouster.
Second-half goals from Algassime Bah and Alseny Soumah handed Guinea a 2-0 win over Nigeria on Tuesday in Rabat, Morocco ending Nigeria’s dream of participating at the U-23 AFCON and by extension Paris 2024 Olympics.
The defeat was a bitter pill to swallow, for a team that emerged champions of the Africa U23 Cup of Nations in Senegal in 2015 and reached the finals stage in Egypt four years ago.
Dosu who won gold medal with the Dream Team in 1996 became the first African team to win gold in men’s football is sad about Salisu Yusuf’s wards’ performance.
“I am not happy. I just have to tell you that I am not happy. It’s painful. I won’t lie to you. I don’t want to abuse anybody. Let me just keep my calm so that I won’t say anything that is hurting,” the 49-year-old told Brila FM.
Another member of Atlanta 1996 Olympic gold-winning team, Akeem Ogunlade says Nigeria should go back to the drawing board.
“Not qualifying for the U-23 AFCON and the Olympics is a disgrace to Nigerian football. It starts from the grassroots. We all have blames. We don’t have enough dedicated players anymore in the country,” Ogunlade reacted.
“Most of the players think of how to leave the country without thinking about how to prepare before going abroad. We have to start from somewhere. It’s not easy playing in Europe. You start from your home if you want to play well in Europe.
“If you are not doing well at home, how will clubs come for you? The way forward is to go back to the drawing board and start from the grassroots. We need to do as we use to do before.”
Nigeria has won gold, silver, and bronze medals at the men’s event of the Olympics which it achieved in 1996, 2008, and 2016 respectively.
The focus now is on the Super Falcons which will attempt a return to the Olympics after three straight games without qualification.
