The Super Eagles over the weekend restored some respect and glory to the national team after a convincing 3-1 defeat of the Fennecs of Algeria last Saturday in the Russia 2018 World Cup qualifiers in Uyo.
Algeria which is one of Africa's in form teams with an attack that is quite formidable prior to the commencement of the World Cup qualifiers were brutally exposed by the rampaging Nigerian attack which counter attacked ruthlessly. A brace for Victor Moses and Chelsea outcast, John Obi Mikel did the trick for Nigeria.
If teams had written Nigeria off as a fallen giant in African football after its failure to qualify for the last and next edition of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON ), this victory over Algeria may be a timely warning that this sleeping giant may be experiencing yet another resurgence.
After the dithering by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) in appointing a coach for the Super Eagles after the abrupt resignation of Sunday Oliseh, it appears the NFF have made an astute appointment in the hiring of Gernot Rohr as coach after the ill fated attempt to lure Paul Le Guen.
He has been pragmatic and business like in the management of the squad. A trait which is unsurprising considering where he hails from. These traits have aided in putting Nigeria in pole position to claim the group's sole ticket for the World Cup.
This is hoping the NFF will consolidate on these early strides made by the German coach by ensuring that they give him all the support he needs to prepare the team for the task ahead. Many that would have watched the team tackle Algeria on Saturday would have noticed that the team is far from being the finished article. There are still lots of work to be done by Rohr if the Super Eagles are to maintain their current position on the table.
August 28, 2017 is when the next round of fixtures is supposed to resume as Nigeria hosts Cameroon. It is an opportunity for the Super Eagles to strengthen their grip on first place if they defeat Cameroon knowing fully well that a sterner test will await them in the return leg. If the Super Eagles can come out with at least 4 points from that fixture, they will be quite confident in sealing their place at the World Cup with a victory against Zambia at home. For Algeria to stand a chance of turning the tables, they would have to win their next 3 games.
It is still early days yet. August 2017 is a long time. Many things could go wrong between now and then. Key players could lose form, injuries could rule out important members of the squad, or who knows, someone in the NFF could fall out with Rohr or vice versa which could lead to disharmony in camp or even worse, a sacking... Nothing is impossible in this part of the world and so all hands should be on deck until the goal of qualifying is achieved.
Back to the game on Saturday, despite the handsome victory over the Greens of Algeria, there were some areas of key concern for the Super Eagles which Rohr will be looking to sort out quickly if our quest to qualify and actually make a serious impact at the World Cup in Russia is to be realised.
Ikeme Needs Competent Cover
Daniel Akpeyi was called upon to fill in for Carl Ikeme for the game against Algeria after he pulled out of the game due to injury. Akpeyi didn't exactly cover himself in glory as he was a bunch of nerves initially and even though he could do nothing about the goal by Nabil Bentaleb, his positioning was poor. Ikeme made Nigerians abandon their clamour for Vincent Enyeama's return. If something were to happen to Ikeme... Rohr appeared to have been satisfied with Akpeyi's performance. Nigerians will hope he knows something that they don't.
Rohr Is Yet To Solve The Right Back Conundrum
Kenneth Omeruo played at right back last Saturday and of course he had some anxious moments during the game as he hasn't played there in a long time for the Super Eagles. The problem which the late Stephen Keshi could not solve permanently with Efe Ambrose is still proving a hard nut to crack. Rohr played Wilfred Ndidi in that role in the game against Zambia and now has experimented with Omeruo in this role as well. He wouldn't have been too convinced by his performance.
Nigeria Still Needs A Dependable Striker
Kelechi Iheanacho gave an indifferent performance at best on Saturday and even though he will have better days in a Super Eagles shirt, the fact that the other strikers in the team such as Odion Ighalo and Brown Ideye seem to be wasteful in front of goal should cause some to worry that this profligacy could yet come back to haunt the team in more difficult games and against more resolute defences.
No comments:
Post a Comment