‘Crazy’ – Chelle’s favourite Nigerian youngster reveals what it was like facing Gabon hero Aubameyang

Nigerian defender Benjamin Fredrick says he will never forget the lessons learned from going head-to-head with Gabon legend Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang after Nigeria’s 4–1 extra-time victory in Thursday’s FIFA World Cup Africa playoff semi-final in Rabat, Soccernet.ng reports.

The Super Eagles secured their place in Sunday’s decisive final against DR Congo courtesy of goals from Adams Akor, Chidera Ejuke and a brace from Victor Osimhen.

However, quite a bit of the post-match attention has centred on the 20-year-old centre-back who was handed a surprise start ahead of captain William Troost-Ekong.

Head coach Eric Chelle paired Fredrick with Calvin Bassey in central defence, tasking the rookie and the Fulham man with shutting down two of Africa’s most dangerous forwards: Denis Bouanga and 2015 African Footballer of the Year, Aubameyang.

The Gabon captain, now 36, may be in the twilight of his career, but remains one of the continent’s elite movers, the only African to have played for Arsenal, Chelsea and Barcelona.

On Thursday, however, Fredrick kept him unusually quiet, showing composure far beyond his years and even dispossessing him before initiating the move that led to Osimhen’s first goal, Nigeria’s third, in extra time.

Benjamin Frederick’s performance against Gabon. pic.twitter.com/U9dwD8FSQx

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Speaking after the match, Fredrick admitted he had been pushed to his physical and mental limits against Gabon’s all-time top goalscorer.

“Playing against Aubameyang was a huge lesson for me,” Fredrick told OGN.

“It wasn’t easy like how you said it. His movements was crazy and it kept me running all the time. He can come from the left, right, central and also drop deep. It’s not easy keeping up with him.”

Fredrick, who made his Super Eagles debut earlier this year and is widely regarded as one of Chelle’s favourite young prospects, insisted he was only able to shine because of the collective effort around him.

“I want to thank my teammates as well because it was not just me but everybody in the team,” the young defender added. “Even the ones who were on the bench also deserve praises because they could do as well if not better but we all can’t play at the same time.”

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Nigeria: Bassey calls for Brentford to promote Fredrick after commanding display

Fredrick’s performance drew praise from across the Nigerian football community, including 1994 AFCON winner Sunday Oliseh, but one endorsement carried particular weight; that of his defensive partner, Calvin Bassey.

Bassey, speaking to Victor Modo after the victory, urged Premier League club Brentford, who still retain rights to the player, to accelerate Fredrick’s development by promoting him to the first-team squad. Fredrick is presently on loan at Belgium's top division club FCV Dender.

“He’s amazing. His potential is unbelievable and he’s a good kid. He wants to learn, he’s down to earth. He’s unbelievable,” Bassey said.

“For me, I think Brentford should get him back in the first team because he’s so good. He’s unbelievable.”

Bassey also highlighted the overall quality within the Nigeria squad, praising the team’s attacking fluency.

“We always had the quality. It’s amazing, of course, the pitch helped. We’ve always had goals in this team, look at the attack we have. It’s just about sometimes it comes off, sometimes it doesn’t.”

Nigeria’s victory sets up a blockbuster final against DR Congo, who edged Cameroon 1–0 in the other semi-final to reach Sunday’s decisive playoff.