By Bolaji Douglas – London
The Nigerian national team the Super Eagles were hosted by their England counterpart to a friendly match on Saturday the 2nd of June as part of the friendlies matches put in place to prepare both teams for their world cup outing in Russia. Although a friendly, the match nevertheless managed to generate a lot of interest especially on the side of the Nigerian fans who were eager to catch a glimpse of how their team would be filing out in Russia. The last match which saw the Super Eagles lose to Serbia, had created doubts in the minds of the fans who were anticipating a successful World Cup outing on the back the scintillating performance that saw the team qualify from their group easily during the African qualifier phase.
The Three Lions therefore were expected to provide a stiff test for the Super Eagles, the likes of which the team have to surmount if they intend mount a credible challenge and make it out of their tough group comprising of Croatia, Iceland and Argentina, a group already tagged the group of death. Both teams presented a strong team going by the team list below:
England:
Jordan Pickford, Kieran Trippier, Ashley Young, Kyle Walker, John Stones, Gary Cahill, Eric Dier, Dele Alli, Jesse Lingard, Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling.
Nigeria:
Felix Uzoho, Shehu Abdulahi, Brian Idowu, Leon Balogun, Troost Ekong, Onazi, Joel Obi, Mikel Obi, Alex Iwobi, Odion Ighalo and Victor Moses
Player Assessment
Francis Uzoho: For someone who suddenly finds in the position where the expectations of the whole nation thrust upon him, for someone so young and with so little experience at this level of the game, Uzoho must be commended for the way he handled himself in this game. But for him the game would have ended in the first half. Although partly at fault for the second goal, it can equally be argued that he was partially unsighted when Harry Kane shot came to him. Once again, he demonstrated good aerial presence. He is a work in progress.
Shehu Abdulahi: He was not his usual self in this game, he struggled to handle the runs Raheem was making ably assisted by the clever play of Ashley Young. His case was not helped by the indecisiveness of Alex Iwobi, Shehu constantly found himself being isolated and unsure if to track the runs of Raheem or try to stop Ashley Young. Did not contribute much to attack either, perhaps his worst appearance for the Super Eagles.
Brian Idowu: Made a couple of last ditch tackles to deny England their scoring chances. Although eager to go forward but contributed very little and his efforts did not amount to much. He would need to improve a lot upon his crosses and this might have to do with the fact that he is not a natural left footed player.
Ogenyi Onazi: He had a very poor game. He has been struggling with his form and has not been able to hit the heights he got to 4 years ago that made him to shine in Brazil. Sitting at the base of the midfield, he failed to provide the much-needed cover for the defence, nor was he able to help the team to pass the ball out of defence. He made so many poor passes, one of which led to the second goal. A reminder that such mistakes would not go unpunished at this level. He committed many unnecessary fouls in vital areas of the field and these can be used to punish the team. No one was surprised when he was yanked off by half time, it was long overdue.
Leon Balogun: Together with his defensive partner struggled to contain the rampaging runs of the England attackers. This was partly due to the sluggish movement in the midfield to take defensive positions when the team does not have the ball. He made a couple of important tackles to deny England in the early part of the game, when the team was in trouble. Like the Balogun we have come to know in the colours of the Super Eagles, he put his body on the line, blocking and challenging for the ball. Partly at fault for the first goal, when he allowed himself to be dragged away from the area he should be defending, thus leaving shorter players with the responsibility of defending the aerial ball that came off England’s corner kick. This gave Gary Cahill the advantage to nod in England’s first goal. He His lack of communication with his team mates resulted in a bad head collision as both himself and Joel Obi went for the same ball in the air. Thankfully both came off unhurt, but he was later taken off.
Troost Ekong: Like Balogun, he was subjected to the flurry of attacking runs that left the team bewildered in the first half. With Shehu Abdulahi being isolated on his right-hand side, Troost found himself being pulled to cut off the gap that kept popping up on his right side. This was not helped by the poor cover in front of the defence. He was commanding in the air as usual and put in his strong trademark tackles. I could not help but notice that his ball distribution seems to have improved. In the second half when the midfield was re-organised, he settled down and enjoyed a decent game.
Joel Obi: Brought in to provide width and balance on the left side of the midfield, he struggled to stamp his authority in the game until he was taken off at half time. Without being unfair to him, it remains hard to identify his role or contribution in the game. He can do better, you do not play in Serie-A if you do not have something to offer. He looked unsure of himself most of the time and simply could not get going. A poor game he had by his standard.
Victor Moses: It took him forever to get into the game, he started sluggishly and his runs were either late or off. Perhaps still struggling from the effects on the season’s matches or that of trying to re-adjust to the new role which he plays for the Super Eagles. By the time he came into the game, the few tricks he tried did not really pay off. But he remained one of the scanty attacking threats we had in the game when running at the England defence with the ball. He had an average game.
Mikel Obi: He did his usual stuff to calm the play down in the middle, but with two other midfielders not working, he became an isolated figure in the middle. He also started sluggishly and often caught out of position on a couple of occasions. Like everyone in the team, he had a poor first half, especially in his defensive contribution to the team. But he came alive in the second half with a settled midfield, this allowed the team to exert itself in the game. He did ok, but more will be expected of him in Russia.
Alex Iwobi: For whatever reason, it appeared he felt restraint playing on the right-hand side of the midfield. He looked confused and tentative when he had the ball this was partly due to the non-mobility of his team mates. It was almost as if he was not sure of what was expected of him. And there appeared to be a lack of understanding between himself and Shehu Abdulahi, which might be down to lack of communication. This contributed to the troubles the team had defending on the right side. But come second half playing in a deeper role and with much freedom, he became a threat. He was moving the ball around, he was making runs and beating his opponents, he was finding himself in threatening positions, from one of which he got the Super Eagles goal. A very good performance and by far the best player of the night for the Super Eagles.
Odion Ighalo: For those who do not understand the other roles Odion does for the team when he is not scoring goals, it becomes easy for such to label him a non-scoring striker far from it. Playing as a lone striker against a quality team playing with 3 centre halves was never going to be an easy job. His job was to make life hard for them, to hold up play and yes to try to score as well. Doing the last becomes almost impossible if you are not getting any quality service from the wings or midfield. That said Odion needs to do more, his running into offensive positions needs a lot of improvement, he needs to time them properly to avoid those unnecessary offsides calls against him. He needs to be more ruthless in front of goal. He worked his socks off for the team and would have scored, but his shot came off the post which Iwobi converted. He had a decent game.
John Ogu: Came in for the Joel Obi and took up to the surprise of everyone an unusual position, he dropped into the central defensive position as the Super Eagles went for 3 at the back. That was not the only surprise, for many seeing him play this role, they were in for greater surprise the ease with which he slotted in and the calmness he brought into the defence with his good reading of the game and the timely interceptions he made. Instead of the chaos in the first half where the defence was hurriedly trying to get the ball out with hasty clearances, John’s handling of the ball, his passing enabled the team to play a more settled game. His display I believe his performance has given the technical crew another defensive option. His weakness which however was not exploited remains his lack of pace.
Etebo Ogenekharo: Came in for Onazi and immediately went to work organising the midfield. Gone were the careless giving away of the ball in sensitive areas. Gone were the unnecessary fouls. This allowed the others into the game. Himself and Ogu brought calmness into the team and this allowed the Super Eagles to play to their strength. One wonders why this young lad does not play more often.
Ahmed Musa: Came in for Moses and quickly went about his business of punishing the opposition with his pace and runs. Created some anxious moments by running directly at the England defence. His pace remain an asset, but his decision making could do with some improvement. Did well for the few minutes he was on the field.
Kelechi Iheanacho: Came in for Odion but had little time to stamp himself on the game. His biggest asset remains his goal scoring threat, unfortunately he was not presented with any opportunity to do that.
Tyron Ebuehi: Came in for Shehu Abdulahi and the right side came alive with his willingness to join the attack with his runs. His clever overlapping runs created all sorts of problems for England and his recovery to help in the defence ensured his forage forward did not endanger the team in anyway. He looked assured on the right aside of the defence. Solid performance he put in.
Kenneth Omeruo: Came in for Balogun and put in a decent performance. Being comfortable with the ball at his feet, he was one of the substitutes that allowed the Super Eagles to get a foothold in the game. His reading of the game was good and did all that was required of him. If he is not starting at least the team can be have the rest of mind that they have capable hands on the bench.
Team Performance
It is now becoming a worrying trend that the team starts off the game sluggishly. Against England they would have been made to pay dearly if England had taken their chances. Kudos also to the young keeper and the defenders who made many saves and tackles to deny England. Against a more clinical side, the game would have been wrapped up within 40 minutes. The team conceded the first goal in the first 10 minutes and she struggled to get a foot in the game until the second half. The defence struggled to play as a unit and were troubled by the runs of Lingard and Raheem Sterling. The pair of Joel Obi and Onazi did not appear to know what to do and struggled to provide the needed cover. Careless passes were being made in vital areas thus putting the team under pressure. The players looked nervous and tensed, perhaps the occasion got to a couple of them. It was not surprise that by the end of the first half the team was 2 goals down and it was looking like a rout was in the making.
Kudos to the handlers of the team for changes they made both in the personnel and tactical approach. The team switched from back four to three at the back and pushed the full backs into wing back roles. With two centre halves (Ogu and Omeruo) who were both comfortable with passing the ball, in addition to Iwobi dropping into the middle and Etebo now sitting in front of the defence, not only did the team become more compact, they were also beginning to assert themselves in the game. The team pushed England back and we were seeing spells in the game where England was chasing the game trying to stop Super Eagles from playing. The question on the lips of everyone was – where was this performance in the first half?
Although the team redeemed itself in the second half, as the result showed, they paid dearly for the slow start in the first half and this must be addressed.