By Ukwueze Onyedikachi
The Super Eagles of Nigeria, Saturday, defeated the Chipolopolo of Zambia in a crunch FIFA World Cup 2018 encounter right in their backyard at the Levy Nwanawasa stadium in Zambia. This feat was achieved after Nigeria’s wonderkids Alex Iwobi of Arsenal FC and Kelechi Iheanacho of Manchester City both of England tore their host apart with a goal each in the first half of the showpiece and a second half consolation from Collins Mbesuma of Zambia making it 2 – 1.
Sportswand looked into the match in an in-depth analysis and came out with the following verdicts on the way the Super Eagles prosecuted the match and the things we expect to see in the team going forward.
Looks like we’ve gotten a replacement for Vincent Enyeama
Following the premature retirement of the Nigerian World-class goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama after a fallout with former gaffer – Sunday Oliseh, Nigerians have been concerned about who mans the goalpost for the Super Eagles with some sections of the media clamouring for the return of Vincent Enyeama to the team but with the performance of the current Super Eagles goal tender, Carl Ikeme in that Zambia match, one might as well forget about pushing for the return of Vincent Enyeama and throw all the support for the current Eagles number one.
Carl Ikeme pulled a man of the match performance for the Eagles after some strings of touchline saves. Had it not been for Carl, the Zambian captain – Kalaba would have done a lot of damage to the Super Eagles with his threatening headers and shots.
Rohr has to be more prompt and decisive with his substitutions
Looking at the performance of Moses Simon in that match, one would be tempted to question the tactical ability of the new Super Eagles manager – Gernot Rohr. Simon was off-paced and started firing blank in that match from the get go and the manager left him in the field till around the 80th minute when he was substituted with Ahmed Musa who was on the bench all along.
SEE ALSO: Is Real Madrid Suffering From Yellow Fever?
I expected Him to be substituted in the 2nd half following a shambolic first half display but Rohr could not take any action on that issue. Yes, Musa may not be getting a lot of playing time in his club but we all saw his impact when he was introduced in the later stages of the game. He could have done better if his introduction came up earlier.
Nigeria’s football future is bright
Mikel Obi, 29, was the oldest player in action for the young and energetic Super Eagles that crushed Zambia in their last match. I think Nigeria is lucky to have the Arsenal and Manchester City wonderkids- Alex Iwobi and Kelechi Iheanacho in the fold at a time like this.
The kind of talent this duo possesses is out of this world and any football manager would thank his stars for having them in his team. Looking at the performance of William Troost-Ekong also in the heart of our defense both in the Zambia match and in the just concluded Rio Olympics, one would be rest assured that we have gotten a rock in the heart of our defense and he is still young.
Iheanacho broke a long standing scoring record
The Super Eagles and Manchester City wonderkid- Kelechi Iheanacho broke the record for most consecutive goals scored in the matches involving the Super Eagles. Rashidi Yekini and Samson Siasia were the previous record holders who scored three consecutive goals in Super Eagles’ matches.
It should be recalled that Kelechi Iheanacho scored against Mali and Luxembourgh under Coach Yusuf and scored Nigeria’s lone goal against Tanzania in their last match. His last goal against Zambia makes it 4 in 4 matches for him.
Rohr has to find a balance for our shambolic defense
In a day where our defense was lacking in leadership and concentration, we were very lucky to have escaped from Zambia with a precious win, many thanks to our goalkeeper Carl Ikeme.
Zambia’s Collins Mbesuma capitalized on the blunder by Kenneth Omeruo to fire home Zambia’s only goal of the match.
Excuses can be made for Gernot Rohr who had his invitee – Leon Balogun missing in the game due to an injury he sustained in a league match with his club. But Elderson Echiejile and Wilfried Ndidi all struggled in the full back positions and this calls for an urgent work if we stand a chance against the fast-paced Algeria in the next qualifiers in Uyo.
Nigeria plays Algeria in November in the city of Uyo.
Appreciate this by commenting and sharing below
The Super Eagles of Nigeria, Saturday, defeated the Chipolopolo of Zambia in a crunch FIFA World Cup 2018 encounter right in their backyard at the Levy Nwanawasa stadium in Zambia. This feat was achieved after Nigeria’s wonderkids Alex Iwobi of Arsenal FC and Kelechi Iheanacho of Manchester City both of England tore their host apart with a goal each in the first half of the showpiece and a second half consolation from Collins Mbesuma of Zambia making it 2 – 1.
Sportswand looked into the match in an in-depth analysis and came out with the following verdicts on the way the Super Eagles prosecuted the match and the things we expect to see in the team going forward.
Looks like we’ve gotten a replacement for Vincent Enyeama
Following the premature retirement of the Nigerian World-class goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama after a fallout with former gaffer – Sunday Oliseh, Nigerians have been concerned about who mans the goalpost for the Super Eagles with some sections of the media clamouring for the return of Vincent Enyeama to the team but with the performance of the current Super Eagles goal tender, Carl Ikeme in that Zambia match, one might as well forget about pushing for the return of Vincent Enyeama and throw all the support for the current Eagles number one.
Carl Ikeme pulled a man of the match performance for the Eagles after some strings of touchline saves. Had it not been for Carl, the Zambian captain – Kalaba would have done a lot of damage to the Super Eagles with his threatening headers and shots.
Rohr has to be more prompt and decisive with his substitutions
Looking at the performance of Moses Simon in that match, one would be tempted to question the tactical ability of the new Super Eagles manager – Gernot Rohr. Simon was off-paced and started firing blank in that match from the get go and the manager left him in the field till around the 80th minute when he was substituted with Ahmed Musa who was on the bench all along.
SEE ALSO: Is Real Madrid Suffering From Yellow Fever?
I expected Him to be substituted in the 2nd half following a shambolic first half display but Rohr could not take any action on that issue. Yes, Musa may not be getting a lot of playing time in his club but we all saw his impact when he was introduced in the later stages of the game. He could have done better if his introduction came up earlier.
Nigeria’s football future is bright
Mikel Obi, 29, was the oldest player in action for the young and energetic Super Eagles that crushed Zambia in their last match. I think Nigeria is lucky to have the Arsenal and Manchester City wonderkids- Alex Iwobi and Kelechi Iheanacho in the fold at a time like this.
The kind of talent this duo possesses is out of this world and any football manager would thank his stars for having them in his team. Looking at the performance of William Troost-Ekong also in the heart of our defense both in the Zambia match and in the just concluded Rio Olympics, one would be rest assured that we have gotten a rock in the heart of our defense and he is still young.
Iheanacho broke a long standing scoring record
The Super Eagles and Manchester City wonderkid- Kelechi Iheanacho broke the record for most consecutive goals scored in the matches involving the Super Eagles. Rashidi Yekini and Samson Siasia were the previous record holders who scored three consecutive goals in Super Eagles’ matches.
It should be recalled that Kelechi Iheanacho scored against Mali and Luxembourgh under Coach Yusuf and scored Nigeria’s lone goal against Tanzania in their last match. His last goal against Zambia makes it 4 in 4 matches for him.
Rohr has to find a balance for our shambolic defense
In a day where our defense was lacking in leadership and concentration, we were very lucky to have escaped from Zambia with a precious win, many thanks to our goalkeeper Carl Ikeme.
Zambia’s Collins Mbesuma capitalized on the blunder by Kenneth Omeruo to fire home Zambia’s only goal of the match.
Excuses can be made for Gernot Rohr who had his invitee – Leon Balogun missing in the game due to an injury he sustained in a league match with his club. But Elderson Echiejile and Wilfried Ndidi all struggled in the full back positions and this calls for an urgent work if we stand a chance against the fast-paced Algeria in the next qualifiers in Uyo.
Nigeria plays Algeria in November in the city of Uyo.
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I love what Rhor is doing to this team
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