Napoli striker Victor Osimhen was helpless as the Super Eagles of Nigeria suffered a shocking 1-0 loss at home to Guinea-Bissau on Friday in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
Nigeria were massive favourites, but they failed to live up to the expectations. It was a disjointed and disconnected display from Jose Peseiro’s lads. They failed to create opportunities
Soccernet.ng rates the performances of the players.
Francis Uzoho 6.2: Asides from the goal he conceded, Uzoho had a good game. The Nigerian shot-stopper looked assured on most occasions, and he made some good saves.
Kevin Akpoguma 6: The Hoffenheim man was hardly threatened on the night. He was abysmal in Guinea-Bissau’s first goal. But asides from that, he hardly put a foot wrong
Calvin Bassey 6: He had a decent game. He alongside Akpoguma were at fault in Guinea-Bissau’s goal. He looked shaky at times.
Osayi-Samuel 6: The Fenerbahce man was decent. Defensively, he was solid. He showed some skill in attack, but he failed to put in the right final balls whenever he was in good positions.
Zaidu Sanusi 6: The Porto man was decent in defense. But it was a different story in the attack. He failed to use his pace well, he was unable to swing accurate crosses, and failed to connect with Lookman, especially in the first half.
Wilfred Ndidi 6: He was good in the midfield, but it was clear he was not at his best. He was caught out of position a few times too. Ndidi had chances to do something for Nigeria in the final third, but he often looked confused whenever he was in good positions.
Alex Iwobi 5.9: The Everton man started well, but as the game wore on, his influence reduced. He had a few shots, but none resulted in goals. Iwobi did not create any clear-cut opportunity
Kelechi Iheanacho 5.8 He was off the pace throughout the first half and it was not a surprise that he was taken off at the break. Iheanacho did not have any cutting edge at all.
Ademola Lookman 5.8: It almost looked like Nigeria was missing one player in the first half. Lookman was poor, he was invincible. He did not add anything to the game.
Samuel Chukwueze 6.1: He came alive late into the game, his trickery troubled the Djurtus’ defense, but he could not find the final ball. Chukwueze’s crosses were not dangerous enough, and he failed to link up well with Osimhen in the final third.
Victor Osimhen 5.8: Osimhen was caged for the entire fixture. He was pocketed. His crosses were poor whenever he tried.
Osimhen started showing his frustration late in the game when he was not getting passes.
Paul Onuachu 5.9: He was brought in to give Nigeria some bite to the attack. However, he did not change much. Onuachu had a few headers, but they were wide
Moses Simon 6: Simon added some urgency to Nigeria’s attack. He was a thorn in the flesh of the Guinea-Bissau players. Still, he could not carve the backline open.
This post was last modified on March 25, 2023 12:22 pm