The Super Eagles suffered a 2-0 defeat to Mali in their second game of the international break. The lads impressed in their first game under Finidi, defeating Ghana, but against Mali, they looked quite ordinary, Soccernet.ng reports.
Unlike the game against Ghana, the players were unable to build out from the back, as Mali employed a high line, which worked quite well, as the Super Eagles were destabilized.
For the rest of this article, Soccernet.ng rates the players’ performance.
Stanley Nwabali 6.5/10: Nwabali had a decent game against Mali. Although he conceded two goals, he had a decent showing. He did not make any errors that cost the team.
Semi Ajayi 6/10: The West Brom man had a game to forget. He, alongside the other two defenders, could have done better. His lack of communication with the other two center-backs was evident.
Kenneth Omeruo 6/10: Omeruo was the captain on the night, but he could not help to cool the nerves of his teammates. The Super Eagles were under a lot of pressure in the first half, and having cool heads could have reduced the pressure.
Chidozie Awaziem 5.5/10: Awaziem assisted Mali’s first goal. His poor pass gave the Malians an opportunity, and they took it. He looked quite shaky in possession and looked jittery whenever opposition players put pressure on him.
Jamilu Collins 5.8/10: In the absence of Zaidu Sanusi, Collins did not do enough to prove that he deserves a regular starting shirt. He misplaced passes, he struggled to mark opposition defenders and looked offline for most of the encounter.
Raphael Onyedika 6/10: Onyedika also struggled in the game. Finidi’s plan was to break the press and open up chances for the team.
Wilfred Ndidi 5.8/10: It was a night when senior players like Ndidi needed to step up, but he was also swallowed into the game. He misplaced a lot of passes, and it was quite disappointing a player of his ability would be unable to stamp his authority.
Bright Osayi-Samuel 5.9/10: The Fenerbahce man tried to do too much at times. A few times, he was caught in possession in a few times. Osayi-Samuel struggled for most parts of the game.
Kelechi Ihenacho 6.3/10: Iheanacho also looked off in the final third. He had the ball a few times, but he did not use it well. He created one big chance for Cyriel Dessers though, but the Super Eagles star missed.
Moses Simon 6/10: Moses Simon exited the game in the first half because of an injury. But before his injury, he did not offer much in the game.
Alex Iwobi: 6.5/10: Iwobi did not see much on the ball on the night. However, one thing I could be applauded for was his tenacity – He never stopped running. Nonetheless, just like his teammates, he had a bad game
Cyriel Dessers 6/10: Dessers did not get a lot of opportunities, but the big opportunity which he should have taken, he missed it. Aside from that, he was not involved in any other major action.
No need for talks, Our CLUELESS NFF SHOULD GET AMUNEKE ON BOARD ASAP and let finidi assist amuneke, nsien can be a third assistant for starters! That nsien is tight good.. anything than this will mean Nigeria will be out of qualification for world Cup yet again because of Nff incompetency! A white oyibo coach is good but time is short to know our players before June! NFFJAMBOREE WE CAN C… we might frankly speaking not go to yet another world Cup because of that Hugely incompetent Nff… IT IS AMUNEKE TIME AND DESTINY, ANY MANIPULATION WILL BE ANOTHER DISASTER… THAT NIGERIA TEAM IS A 4-4-2 AND 4-2-3-1 TEAM ALTERNATIVELY AT BEST,.. we can also wait for siasia ban to be cleared and reward him with the Super Eagle job as thank you for his many victorious team he gave Nigeria. Amuneke to b assisted by finidi or wait for siasia… time is at disaster-class and disadvantage for a foreign coach to get up to speed. We now need a miracle to go to the world Cup again. Very incompetent NFF….
I think it’s time to stop beating about the bush and give amuneke the eagle job finidi should be deployed to the undet 20
Amunike has proven himself with the u17 tean qnd also guided Tanzania to afcon qualification, finidi need to be deployed to any of the qge grade team to prove himself.
Nff should allow Amuneke to take up the job ASAP.
we can’t miss another WC .
siasia? Omo you are sick?
Amunike has proven himself with the u17 tean qnd also guided Tanzania to afcon qualification, finidi need to be deployed to any of the qge grade team to prove himself.
Nff should allow Amuneke to take up the job ASAP.
we can’t miss another WC .
Pls get a foreign coach NOW. I knew if we had won this 2 friendly matches everybody would’ve been clamouring for finidi to become the next coach. But l see it as blessing in disguise. If we are ready to build on success from our last AFCON, we need a competent foreign, experience coach and He must be given free hand to operate.