Akor Adams: Super Eagles Striker Aims Dig at CAF After Nigeria Lose 3–0 to Guinea-Bissau
- Super Eagles striker Akor Adams spoke out after Nigeria suffered a humiliating 3-0 defeat to Guinea-Bissau in the 2027 AFCON qualifiers
- Adams called out the standard of the pitch at the Estádio 24 de Setembro, saying a quality playing surface should be the bare minimum for African football
- The result left Nigeria in second place in Group L, three points behind Guinea-Bissau, with their qualification hopes under serious threat
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Super Eagles striker Akor Adams has called out the state of African football pitches after Nigeria's 3-0 defeat to Guinea-Bissau in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers on Tuesday, pointing an indirect finger at the Confederation of African Football over its accreditation standards.
The loss, which took place at the Estádio 24 de Setembro in Bissau, stands among Nigeria's most painful in recent memory.
Source: Getty Images
According to BBC Pidgin, Guinea-Bissau, ranked 106 places below Nigeria in the FIFA rankings, ran out convincing winners through goals from Mama Baldé, Franculino Djú, and Álvaro Djaló.
The Super Eagles were poor across all departments, as goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali made errors, the defensive shape collapsed repeatedly, and the attack produced almost nothing of note.
The state of the playing surface drew significant attention both before and during the match, with head coach Eric Chelle pointing to the pitch as a contributing factor after the final whistle.
What Akor Adams said about the defeat
Adams, who plays his club football with Venezia and also struggled to make an impact during the game, addressed the defeat in an interview with the Super Eagles' media team.
The Super Eagles striker was careful not to hide behind excuses, but made clear that the quality of the pitch was a serious concern for African football as a whole.
"It's a game we prepared very well for. We knew how important it was to us in the qualification phase," Adams said.
"We were at our worst that day as a group. We know how good we can be at our best. The captain was furious with us. Many of the boys were devastated."
On the pitch conditions, Adams added:
"A good pitch should be the bare minimum for African football; this we all know. I am not making excuses, we are professionals, and we know that a lot of factors come into the game: the weather, the referee, whatever the circumstance, we should be able to find our way. But a good pitch should be the bare minimum given how good African football is, and that was not the case on that day."
Adams comments draw scrutiny to CAF's process for approving match venues, particularly given that some stadiums in Nigeria that have previously failed CAF inspections are considered to be in comparable or better condition than the Estádio 24 de Setembro.
Where Nigeria stand in the qualifiers
The defeat leaves Nigeria in second place in Group L, three points behind Guinea-Bissau.
The situation is made more difficult by the presence of Tanzania in the group, the co-hosts of the 2027 tournament hold an automatic qualification spot, meaning only one other team from the group will progress through the qualifying rounds.
Nigeria's attention now turns to a friendly against Russia on Tuesday.
Coach Chelle is without several of his regular squad members for that fixture, though Adams remains part of the group as the Super Eagles look to rebuild confidence ahead of their next qualifier.
CAF releases statement after Nigeria's 3-0 defeat
Earlier, Legit.ng reported about CAF’s report on Nigeria’s 3–0 defeat to Guinea-Bissau in the 2027 AFCON qualifiers and the Super Eagles’ difficult position in Group L.
With only one team set to qualify from the group, Nigeria must overturn a three-goal gap to keep their AFCON hopes alive.
Source: Legit.ng
