Uyo, March 26, 2025 | It’s a little past 10 AM WAT, and Nigerian football fans are still rubbing sleep from their eyes, grappling with the bitter taste of another Super Eagles letdown. Last night at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Kenneth Omeruo, the Kasimpasa defender and Super Eagles stalwart, took to X with a message that’s got us all talking. “Well done boys… we are almost there… unlucky with the late goal… #Believe,” he wrote, tipping his hat to his teammates after a gut-wrenching 1-1 draw against Zimbabwe in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. Almost there? Fans like me, pacing my Lagos flat, aren’t so sure. This isn’t just a draw it’s a cry for help from a team that’s supposed to soar, not stagger.
Picture this: 74 minutes in, Victor Osimhen, our Napoli lion, rises like a king to head home a beauty from Ola Aina’s cross. The stadium erupts, 30,000 voices shaking Uyo’s foundations. We’re up 1-0, three points in sight, a lifeline after Rwanda’s 2-0 gift last week. Then, the clock hits 83, and it all unravels. Zimbabwe’s Tawanda Chirewa, a Huddersfield Town nobody, waltzes through our defense like it’s a Sunday stroll. Omeruo’s bypassed, Calvin Bassey’s lost, Stanley Nwabali’s rooted goal. 1-1. The whistle blows, and the Nest of Champions feels more like a nest of despair. Osimhen’s in tears, per Daily Post Nigeria, and I’m right there with him, fists clenched, asking: how?
Omeruo’s optimism stings because it clashes with the scoreboard. Fourth in Group C with seven points from six games, we’re chasing shadows. South Africa’s laughing at 13, Rwanda’s at 10, Benin’s got 7 too. Zimbabwe, bottom with five, just danced on our turf. “Unlucky” doesn’t cut it when you’ve won once in this campaign once! against Rwanda. Draws against Lesotho, Zimbabwe twice, losses elsewhere. This isn’t the Nigeria of ’94, of Yekini and Amunike. This is a team sleepwalking toward another World Cup miss, and fans are fed up.
Yet there’s Omeruo, the 31-year-old warrior who’s seen Brazil 2014 and Russia 2018, holding the flag high. “We are almost there,” he says, and you can feel his grit through the screen. He’s been here before redemption missions, shaky pitches, big talk. Back in 2023, he told NFF TV we’d smash Lesotho and Zimbabwe. We didn’t. Now, post-Rwanda win, he’s rallying again. “#Believe,” he hashtags, like a pastor preaching to a doubting flock. Is he blind, or does he see something we don’t? Maybe it’s the dressing room pulse Osimhen’s fire, Aina’s hustle that keeps him hopeful. But faith’s hard when Chirewa’s ghosting past you.
Coach Eric Chelle’s got heat too. Post-match, he’s tight-lipped, but his high-pressing dream, per Soccernet NG, looks more like a daydream. We had 65% possession, created chances, yet crumbled. Zimbabwe’s Marshal Munetsi bragged about their “determination” afterward, and it burns because they showed it we didn’t. X is buzzing with fans like @EagleFan99 at 08:15 WAT: “Omeruo’s belief is sweet, but where’s the fight?” Another at 09:02 WAT: “Chelle’s lost the plot, sack him now.” The anger’s real, and it’s ours.
South Africa’s drama might save us fielding an ineligible player could dock them points, per Daily Post Nigeria—but banking on others’ slip-ups isn’t Nigerian. We’re supposed to dominate, not pray. Four games left: South Africa away, Rwanda home, Benin away, Lesotho somewhere. Twelve points or bust. Omeruo’s right about one thing we’re not out. Osimhen’s a spark, Aina’s a rock, but the backline? Shaky. The midfield? Missing. The spirit? Flickering.
Tonight, as Uyo licks its wounds, Omeruo’s words hang heavy. “Almost there” could mean inches from glory or a cliff. For fans like me, it’s personal, I grew up on Super Eagles magic, not mediocrity. Are we losing our wings, or can we fly again? Omeruo believes. Osimhen’s crying for it. The question is, do we? Time’s ticking, Nigeria-let’s rally or regret.