Iban Salvador broke the deadlock in the 36th minute for Equatorial Guinea before Victor Osimhen responded with a headed goal two minutes later.
The game produced no further goals as both teams played a stalemate. Soccernet.ng rates the performance of the Nigerian players in at the Stade Olympique Ouattara in Ivory Coast.
1. Christian Nwabali 6.5/10: The Chippa United looked calm for most of the game. He claimed his crosses successfully and there was not much he could do when Iban Salvador’s well-placed shot went into the bottom corner.
2. Ola Aina 7/10: The Nottingham Forest full-back looked shaky during the first half jn his defensive duels, but grew into the game as time went on, providing width for the attackers, and nearly scoring for himself, but was denied a goal by Jesus Owono.
3. William Troost Ekong 6.5/10: Captain on the day, Ekong barely put any foot wrong. He commanded the backline properly and was vocal in leading the team.
4. Semi Ajayi 6.5/10: The West Bromwich Albion central defender struggled with the physicality of the game, losing several ground duels, and conceded two corner kicks. On the ball, he was solid, playing progressive passes to aid the team’s build up.
5. Zaidu Sanusi 6.0/10: The Porto full-back was solid defensively and his set piece deliveries weren’t bad. He had two chances to score at the opposing end, but fluffed his lines. He had another opportunity to play a final ball to Victor Osimhen, but got caught in two minds. He was replaced by Calvin Bassey towards the end of the game.
6. Frank Onyeka 7/10: The Brentford man put in a good shift, dropping in between the defense and midfield, picking up loose balls and winning the ball back for the team.
7. Yusuf Alhassan 7.2/10: Arguably the biggest revelation from the game, the Antwerp midfielder didn’t put a foot wrong on his Super Eagles debut. He was physically strong, and tried several times to get the team going from the midfield. His debut was cut short in the 67th minute after he was stretchered off due to an injury, and was replaced by Joe Ayodele Aribo.
8. Alex Iwobi 6.8/10: Iwobi dazzled in the first twenty minutes, but got less involved as the game went on. He forced a save out of Jesus Owono in the first minute of the game, but couldn’t do much after.
9. Ademola Lookman 7.5/10: The Atalanta man switched severally from the right flank to the left, causing the Equitoguinean defense all sorts of trouble. Unlucky to not get a goal himself, he put in his creative side to set up Victor Osimhen for Nigeria’s equalizer.
10. Moses Simon 6/10: The explosive Nantes winger struggled on the right flank. He could barely get any crosses in and the highlight of his game was his shot tipped onto the woodwork by Owono in the first half.
11. Victor Osimhen 7/10: The CAF player of the Year award winner scored Nigeria’s equalizer and caused all sorts of problems for the opposition defence, but was far from his best. His finishing wasn’t precise and it cost Nigeria three points, as he had two more chances to put the Super Eagles up, but he just couldn’t score.
Substitutes
Joe Aribo 6.5/10: The Southampton midfielder came on for the injured Alhassan Yusuf and created a chance in the late minutes of the game.
Samuel Chukwueze 4.5/10: The right winger’s decision making let him down most times when he came on. He beat his man and got lost on what to do.
Calvin Bassey: Came on to play left back for Sanusi late on, but couldn’t do much, same as Bright Osayi-Samuel.
This post was last modified on January 14, 2024 6:00 pm
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nah too dey hail rubish
Osimhen rushes taking his shots,it's not entirely a bad thing but he needs to learn when to get off a shot quickly or go round the keeper or play in a teammate with a better chance at converting a chance,he also needs to learn how to stay inside at times. Chukwueze is a waste of a spot, incapable of using his right leg,loses the ball too often and has no goal scoring instinct
which kind rating be this?? you guys watch the match??? why are we always sentimental about everything?? aside from the injured AlHassan, and probably Lookman...all the other players are just average, the entire nation believes in Victor Osimeh, and he couldn't bury those chances....no game plan, no transition, iwobi will always go forward when the defense line started a pass, who does he expect to connect the ball for him to the attacker?? wrong Coach
Every player wants to score. They need to play as a team heads up. We need to have the 4-4-2 formation instead of the 4-1-4-1. Chuckwueze and Osimhen in front. Iwobi should come in as a sub in the second half that’s how to unleash his potential.
Guys need to be quick with the ball and be less selfish. Goodluck team Nigeria.
With the style of play, if they go beyond first round, they really tried as i don't see them going beyond first round with the style of play
luck was simply not on our side. In any lucky day Osime would have composed himself and slotted in the second goal. Super Eagles are Known to start any competition badly but improves as the competition advances. I wish them the best
AlHassan 8.5 ..lookman 6.5...victor 7....iwobi 2....the rest 5.
The super Eagles is yet to fly and learn to play as a team not to be selfish or I must be the one to score but as a team
Super eagles indeed.. they worked hard to draw that game than to win it no zeal no determination as if they were all forced to come and play except Alhassan
Alhassan has always been a good player and i have said it before, he should have been in the team a long time before now. Thank goodness that everyone can see his quality now, going forward we have someone who can add a little extra in midfield and make us less reliant on certain players.
which is more than i can say about the attack. We put too much pressure on osimhen and yes he should have scored more than one goal yesterday but was he the only one who missed a goal scoring opportunity? This is why we needed Boniface to take some of the goal scoring pressure off osimhen. Lookman played well but was to occupied creating opportunities for others, while Simon and zaidu had a poor game and may not start the next game as a result of that.
people criticizing iwobi should note he created some goal scoring opportunities and also played deep in midfield so he shouldn't be used as a scapegoat.
chukwueze came in the second half and showed why he should be left on the bench, with poor decision making, poor passes and no penetration. I see him losing his place to players like Sor, Nathan, ishak if he isn't careful and serious.
The team tried to raise their game given their injury set back and the coach tried something different which could have worked with a little luck. Lets see how things play out with a few more players being added to the attack line in the next game against the host.