What must Nigeria do to win the next AFCON?
Nigeria prides itself as one of the superpowers of African football, but the Super Eagles have not had success in the Africa Cup of Nations since 2013.
Indeed, the Eagles have been African champions on just three occasions, and there have been very long gaps between each of their previous title runs.
Nigeria lifted her first Nations Cup when they hosted the event in 1980, but they had to wait 14 years before doubling their title tally, taking the title in Tunisia in 1994. Another 19 years passed before the West African nation won the tournament again in 2013.
At no point in Nigeria's rich football history has the country truly dominated the African football terrain.
Relative to Egypt, which have seven African titles, and won consecutive AFCONs in 2006, 2008, and 2010, Nigeria have some ground to make up if they are to get anywhere near being tagged as the greatest footballing nation in Africa.
The Eagles can start by regaining the Nations Cup title when the event is staged in Cameroon next year.
But does the Nigerian team have what it takes to become the next African champions?
Going by the latest FIFA rankings, Nigeria are the fifth best team on the continent, behind Senegal, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco.
This suggests that the Eagles will probably not win the Nations Cup, but then again, the tournament is not played on paper.
Not many people gave Nigeria a chance to win the 2013 AFCON in South Africa, but they surprised the world by going all the way with a relatively average team.
So it may not be the most terrible idea to place an early wager on the Eagles being the next African champions on betting sites in the country.
While the current Nigerian team may not have the most outstanding talents in the continent, they have a large group of good footballers all over the pitch that can certainly do a job.
The central defense looks very stable, with William Troost-Ekong marshaling the troops, while there are a number of useful options at full-back for the manager to choose from.
Wilfred Ndidi, Joe Aribo, and Oghenekaro Etebo provide a solid base in midfield, and ahead of them are the likes of Alex Iwobi, Henry Onyekuru, Samuel Chukwueze, Kelechi Iheanacho, Victor Osimhen, and a host of other attacking talents.
One thing is for sure; coach Gernot Rohr does not lack numbers and options.
It is up to the manager to harness the players at his disposal and develop a functional unit that will hold its own against any team on the continent.
One criticism that has been used against Rohr during his time with the Eagles is a lack of flexibility and dynamism. The coach has often been too rigid with his tactics, forcing the players into a dour 4-3-3 formation.
This conservative, hard-to-beat style may be good enough to get Nigeria into the latter stages of tournaments, as it did when they reached the semi-finals of the last Nations Cup in Egypt, but it will likely fall short against the very top nations like Algeria and Senegal.
If the Super Eagles are to make the step from 3rd to 2nd, and possibly first, then they have to be a bit more proactive. They have got the attacking qualities to dominate teams more than they have managed so far under Rohr.
Besides, Nigerian fans do not only want their team to win matches and tournaments, they also want a side that wins with style and panache, just like they used to do in the old days.
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