By Bolaji Douglas
After what was a poor start, the Super Eagles finally got their world cup campaign off to a good start with their emphatic win over Iceland in a must win match. To the delight of the fans the team came out being fully aware of the enormous task ahead of them, they did not disappoint as they brought the hard fighting Icelandic nation down with two un-replied goals.
Iceland: Halldorsson,Saevarsson,
Nigeria: Uzoho, Omeruo, Troost-Ekong, Balogun, Moses, Etebo, Mikel, Ndidi, Idowu , Musa, Iheanacho
A change was called for after the faltering start to Nigeria’s World Cup campaign in Russia and change the handlers of the team made both tactically and in personnel. The team went with three at the back with the introduction of Kenneth Omeruo, joining the duo of Troost Ekong and Leon Balogun in the defence. The team deployed five in the middle made up the two wing backs Moses on the right and Idowu on the left side. And with three midfielders made up of the trio of Ndidi, Mikel Obi and Ogenekharo Etebo. The team addressed the issue of the lone striker being isolated by dropping Ighalo for the duo of Musa Ahmed and Kelechi Iheanacho. The team went for a 3-5-2 formation and it was the prescription the doctors recommended.
In what is now becoming customary to the Super Eagles, the team began on a very cautious note, doing so by taking their time to get into the game in what appears to be showing the Icelandic team respect. Perhaps the aim was to figure out what Iceland have in the bag and their approach to the game. Iceland on the other hand tried to take the game to the Super Eagles with their traditional long balls and hard running, but all of their efforts met a stiff resistance from the Nigerian defence. Their traditional long throws and set pieces met with resolute defending by the Super Eagles defence.
The Super Eagles soon settled into the game and they took control of the game, with clever passing in the midfield. Mikel was deployed into a deep lying position, with Ndidi by his side, and from this position, Mikel was able to control and dictate the pace of the game ably supported by Ndidi and Etebo.
The attack which featured Iheanacho and Musa did not really get going in the first half, partly because the team struggled to use the wings effectively and the link up play that did not click until the second half. Moses was trying to get into the game on the right side, but he was not as sharp as he ought to be. And on the left side Idowu was struggling to contribute offensively to the team, he looked unsure of himself going forward although his contribution in the defence cannot be faulted. Nevertheless, the team was not really troubled by the Icelandic players, and the keeper Uzoho once again was rarely troubled. Credit to him again he did very well on the few occasions that he was called into action, his aerial command of his territory continues to be impressive. The first half was reminiscent of the first game against Croatia in the sense that once again the team could not muster a single shot at the Icelandic goal despite being in control of the game with the stats showing the Super Eagles having over 60% possession.
But in the second half the Super Eagles introduced Tyron Ebuehi for Idowu on the left side of the midfield, the reason was obvious, to inject some energy and attacking impetus into the left side of the team. The Super Eagles made clear of it’s intention when Etebo took the ball from his own half and ran the entire field avoiding the Icelandic tackles and ended up testing their keeper with the first shot on goal by the Super Eagles. The Eagles came alive with self-belief and suddenly Iceland was having to contend with attacking threats from both sides of the Super Eagles play and as their attention was being required from sides of their defence. And with the Eagles now finding pockets on the wings and through the channels, the usually compact Iceland team were now being stretched.
Knowing this was a match they had to win and perhaps buoyed by their ability to keep the Super Eagles attackers at bay in the first half, Iceland began to push forward in search of goals and this presented to the Super Eagles the opportunity they had been waiting for. From one of their long throws, Omeruo headed clearance found Ndidi, who passed the ball to Iheanacho close to the centre circle, Moses surged down the right side of the field and Iheanacho laid the ball into his path. Moses ran with the ball down the right side with the Icelandic players struggling to regroup. A cross into the Icelandic box was cleverly controlled by Musa whose timely arrival into the box allowed him to be able to pluck the ball right in the air changing in the process, the direction of the ball, a move which caught the Icelandic defenders off balance. Musa then calmly waited for the ball to come down and with deadly precision volleyed the ball into the back of the net beyond the lumbering body of the Icelandic keeper Halldorsson.
Stunned by the goal and realising that their tournament was in danger, Iceland had no option but to pour more men into attack, this they did at the expense of the organisation and compactness which in the past had seen them frustrate many teams in the past. This, opened the game up and it took a good save from the Icelandic keeper Halldorsson to prevent the terrific shot from Ndidi hitting the roof of the net. Moments later Musa almost made it two when his cleverly take shot from the edge of the box hit the bar with the keeper well beaten. The Super Eagles were now on the rampage and could smell a kill.
Iceland were soon caught out again, and this time, it was another clearance from Omeruo who was having a great game in the heart of the defence. His clearance found Ahmed Musa in a one to one situation with an isolated Icelandic defender, Musa could not have wished for a better scenario. The ball fell nicely for him and Musa pushed the ball forward, proceeded to outpace the defender and as soon as he was in front cut in right in front of the defender into the box. The defender was helpless as he dares not touch Musa without conceding a penalty, the keeper sensing trouble came rushing out but Musa took care of him too by rounding him up nicely. With Iheanacho screaming for the ball, Musa took total control of the situation by ignoring him, he calmly controlled the ball and waited for the two Icelandic defenders scurrying to cover the post to settle down before finding a spot to tuck in the ball, goal number two for the Super Eagles.
Bruised and wounded Iceland fought back desperately and in the closing minutes of the game were awarded a penalty when Tyron Ebuehi was adjudged to have tripped an Icelandic attacker. It was a heart in the mouth moment for the Nigerian fans. But Gyfi Sigurdsson uncharacteristically kicked the ball over the bar, to the relief of the Nigerians in the stadium and the millions watching from their homes.
The Super Eagles introduced Alex Iwobi for Etebo and Ighalo for Iheanacho to see off the game. The Super Eagles almost went 3 goals up in the very last minute of the game when Ighalo robbed the Icelandic defender of the ball, but a quick recovery from the other defenders saved them the blushes. Shortly after the referee blew his whistle to bring the game to an end. The win leaves the Super Eagles with a must win game against a struggling Argentina side if she must proceed into the second round.
Match Analysis
Credit must be given to the team handlers of the Super Eagles who decided jettison the ineffective formation deployed against Croatia. The introduction of the back three enabled us to have three strong defenders at the back and their presence was felt at the set pieces, an aspect of the game where the Super Eagles have been vulnerable in all their matches leading to this game. The three centre halves took care of everything Iceland threw at them. Mention must be made of Kenneth Omeruo whose aerial presence was immense, especially from the set pieces- the corners and the long throws which Iceland use to good effect. His reading of the game was impeccable.
Deploying Mikel into the role he played successfully over the years for Chelsea enabled the team to control the ball possession and circulation from the deep where he was not harried and had enough time on the ball. And with support from more mobile Moses, Ndidi and Etebo, the team was now able to move the ball around the often-compact Iceland formation. And finally playing two upfront both with decent pace meant the Super Eagles were now able to pull the Iceland defence all over the place, as the centre half were busy trying to figure out which of the two strikers to take care of.
Although it took the second half for the new formation to produce the desired result, nevertheless it allowed the team to retain the possession of the ball and deny Iceland the use of the ball, which meant they spent more time chasing after the Super Eagles to retrieve the ball. A bad idea in the simmering 32-degrees Celsius heat of Volgograd.
Playing Moses in his now traditional wing back position afforded the Super Eagles the compactness needed in the middle to crowd out Iceland, who now resorted to long balls which were well taken care of by the Super Eagles defenders. In addition, this also allowed him to be able to run at the Iceland defence from the deep position by exploiting the gaps left behind as the Icelandic defence pushed forward.
The Super Eagles were patient and they needed to be, they seem to have mastered the art of weathering the storm the opponent heaped at them, doing so by taking the venom out of the opponents attack, something that is often not appreciated because in doing so it takes away their own attacking strength. But with the second half display the team have shown again that they can come out to play and be devastating whenever they are called upon.
Negatives
The inability of the team to use the left side effectively still hinders the team from maximising its attacking options. This is the second match Idowu has shown that his inability to effectively offer an attacking outlet, remains his weakness. The team would be more potent if they can maximise this option of an attacking left back or wing back as well as the right side, using both wings to provide the width that can help to stretch compact teams. When Ebuehi was introduced on the left, The Super Eagles started stretching the defence of Iceland.
Secondly, the team again took too long to become a threat to the opposing team. It is worrying that the team could go 45 minutes without a shot at goal. And in this match the team had over 60% possession in the first half without a shot on goal, surely that amount of possession should be made to count.
Nevertheless, this was a solid performance by the Super Eagles, one which left her millions of fans happy and satisfied.
Man of the match: Ahmed Musa, what a match, and those two goals were masterfully taken. He has demonstrated once again that if played in the right his pace and knack for goals scoring can be devastating. The two goals he scored in the match brought his tally to 4 World Cup goals, thus making him the highest Nigerian goal scorer at the World cup and the only Nigerian to have scored in two consecutive world cup tournaments. A well-deserved award!