Former Super Eagles international Mutiu Adepoju has expressed displeasure at the condition of the pitch used for Nigeria’s clash against South Africa on Tuesday.
Bafana Bafana played host to Nigeria in their crucial Group C qualifying match for the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Tuesday at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein.
Originally, the stadium is used by South African professional rugby team, Toyota Cheetahs, although it is sometimes used for football purposes.
The match ended in a 1-1 result, dashing Nigerian hopes of reaching the 2026 tournament.
South Africa started the match brightly and opened the scoring in the 25th minute in fortunate circumstances.
Super Eagles captain William Troost-Ekong put the ball into his own net after a cross from Mohau Nkota.
Fulham defender Calvin Bassey equalized for Nigeria in the 44th minute in controversial condition, after his header hit him on the hand before settling in the back of the net.
The three-time African champions wasted further chances to find the back of the net as the match ended in a stalemate.
Speaking in an interview after the match, Mutiu Adepoju who once played for Nigeria, blamed the pitch for the poor display.
“I am not really happy with the kind of pitch that was used for this big game of this nature. As you can see, the Super Eagles players are really struggling to cope with it because it’s a bumpy pitch”, Adepoju said.
“The players tried their best to cope with the nature of the pitch, and it’s so unfortunate that Nigeria could only play a 1-1 draw against South Africa”, he added.
Can Nigeria still qualify for the World Cup?
The draw against South Africa leaves Nigeria in a precarious position ahead of the final two rounds of qualifying matches.
South Africa top Group C with 17 points, but face a potential point deduction for fielding an ineligible player early in the qualifiers.
The Super Eagles must win both of their remaining matches against Benin Republic and Lesotho, while they hope other results in the group are in their favor to stand a chance of securing the automatic ticket.
