Brighton's Balogun Must Redeem Battered Image Against Cameroon

Super Eagles defender Leon Balogun could be in action on Saturday when the Super Eagles face Cameroon's Indomitable Lions in one of the Round of 16 matches of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations and all eyes will be on him following the defensive error he committed that led to Madagascar's first goal in the team's last Group B game.

The game ended 2-0 in favour of Madagascar who are debutants in the Africa Cup of Nations.

The Brighton centre back's lapse in concentration allowed Lalaina Nomenjanahary to round goalkeeper Ikechukwu Ezenwa and slot home and Nigerian football faithful who can be unforgiving will be all guns blazing when the weekend comes.

Now, the Nigerian will be hard pressed to redeem himself after his bold response to the huge criticisms he received from Nigerians.

Balogun accepted his error that led to goal against Madagascar and followed that up with a twitter rant on his verified twitter handle (@leonbalogun).

"You can love me or leave me, but I'm only human and I make mistakes. Try not to hold that against me, tho."

"I accept full responsibility for my actions, so if y'all expect me to be perfect, I apologize for being human. No mistakes are too great to recover," Balogun tweeted.

The round of 16 clash is a mouthwatering one which could go potentially go down as best of the CAF Africa Cup of Nations in 2019 for fans to watch and it's one that Balogun must make the most of if played by head coach Gernot Rohr.

Balogun did not play so many matches for the Seagulls in the 2018/2019 season and for that to change ahead of the  2019/2020 English Premier League season, this AFCON may be his last chance to stake a claim for starting place at Brighton.

The Africa Cup of Nations have thrown up some upsets and amazing results but aside the final result, the manner of performance by the Super Eagles players so far has left much to be desired and the game on Saturday, a rematch of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers which saw Nigeria defeat Cameroon 4-0 at home and 1-1 away will be massive.

The stakes are high just as oppa888 and it is perhaps the last chance saloon for Balogun for both his international and club career.

Balogun is a professional and it will surely be interesting to see whether he is played from the start when the Cameroonians seek to stop Nigeria's run in the tournament.

Izuchukwu Okosi