The Everton midfielder was one of Nigeria’s better players during an exciting first-half display but shares in the team’s backlash following a disappointing second half
Super Eagles’ star Alex Iwobi has expressed his disappointment at Nigeria’s astonishing 4-4 draw with Sierra Leone at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium on Friday evening and has promised that the team would work hard to fix the wrongs in the return fixture.
Gernot Rohr’s men put up a dominant display in the game’s first half-hour, netting four goals and bossing most of the ball possession.
Iwobi bagged his second international brace for Nigeria – his first double came in the 4-2 defeat of Argentina in a 2017 friendly match – with further strikes from Napoli’s Victor Osimhen and Villarreal’s Samuel Chukwueze confirming the Eagles’ early superiority.
But the visitors fought back remarkably to level proceedings and picked up only their second point in the qualifying campaign.
A disappointed Iwobi took to social media site Twitter to identify with the Super Eagles fans.
“[I am] deeply disappointed, we’ll work to put things right,” Iwobi posted on Twitter.
Nigerian fans have not taken the stunning draw lightly, with many rebuking the team for their lackadaisical attitude in the second half of the encounter.
But former international Mutiu Adepoju has called for caution, noting that the Super Eagles would have learned some valuable lessons on playing with full commitment on the final whistle.
“Every game comes with its lessons, and this game against Sierra Leone is one of them,” Adepoju tweeted.
“A match is not won until the final whistle is blown. Fellow Nigerians, I appeal to you that we keep supporting our dear Super Eagles, and I strongly believe they will bounce back in the return leg.”
Even at this result, the three-time African champions still lead Group L, having accrued seven points from three games.
Victory at the Freetown Stadium on Tuesday will see them through to the biennial African football showpiece billed for Cameroon with two games to spare.