The Super Eagles of Nigeria concluded their tour of Europe with a 3-1 victory over Luxembourg in their second friendly game played at the Stade Josy Bathel Stadium in Luxembourg.
Caretaker manager Salisu Yusuf made few changes to the team that defeated Mali 1-0 on Friday in their first friendly game in France, Owngoalnigeria.com Daniel Martins rates the players on parade for Nigeria.
Daniel Akpeyi: Had little to do for large spell of the game but dealt with the few speculative efforts that came from range with ease. He will be disappointed to have conceded a late goal although he has little or no fault in the incident that lead to the goal….7.5/10
Musa Mohammed: Still very raw in technique and application of basic skills, known for his overlapping runs but even when he wasn’t under pressure he didn’t make himself an option in the attacking third, still a mystery how he got called up in the first place considering he is yet to play a single minute of league football after a season in Turkey….4/10
Elderson Echiejile: Steady as a left back, knows when to join attack and when he needs to drift inwards as cover for the centre backs, Has improved his ball playing abilities but should have done more in terms of crossing balls into the opponent’s box considering how well he got up the flanks ….7/10
William Troost Ekong: Willing to put his head where he hurts, love to tackle and very solid in the air but suspect with the ball at his feet. Overall had a solid but not spectacular game, another who could get better in the future….6/10
Kenneth Omeruo: Unlucky to have gifted Luxembourg the equaliser but was by far the leader in the Nigeria defence, carried the ball out of defence with ease, rescued teammates with nice covering runs, did a good job on the top striker of Luxembourg….7/10
Shehu Abdullahi: Played in the midfield and gave a performance that suggest playing him at right back in previous games is undermining his efficiency, Solid in tackles and quick to release the ball at his feet to set up attacks but wasn’t discipline enough in positioning….6.5/10
Eddy Onazi: His well hit effort parried into the path of Brown Ideye lead to Nigeria’s first goal other than that, the captain of the day didn’t do much to inspire the team from the middle, guilty of poor positioning with Shehu Abdullahi as mentioned above which allowed Luxembourg to get behind the Nigeria defence with ease….6/10
Kelechi Iheanacho: He won’t score an easier goal for the Super Eagles than the tap in for Nigeria’s second goal thanks to the unselfish play of Moses Simon, had a first half to forget but still a contender for man of the match after picking up an assist for Odion Ighalo’s after a goal of his own….8.5/10
Aminu Umar: The one bright spark for Nigeria in the first half, started the move that lead to Nigeria’s first goal of the game with a strong run that saw him ghost pass four defenders, constantly left Luxembourg defenders in their wake, tracked back when he had to and didn’t put a foot wrong for the minutes he was on the pitch….8/10
Alex Iwobi: Missed Nigeria’s first chance of the game after a strong solo effort,threaded passes with ease although gave the ball away twice in the first half. Appears to be the only player in the team at the moment capable of playing through a defence splitting pass….6/10
Brown Ideye: Made his presence felt by reacting to a punch by the Luxembourg goalkepper to score the game opener also gave the players around him options by making himself available for a pass or as decoy, did enough to suggest he has been missed by the team in attack….7.5/10
Substitutes:
Moses Simon: Picked up from where the man he substituted Aminu Umar left off, unselfishly set up Iheanacho for Nigeria’s second goal when he could have gone for goal himself, arguably completed more dribbles than any other player in the game….7/10
Babatunde Michael: The Qatar bound forward was guilty of giving the ball away more times than he found his teammate with a pass, the only substitute who did nothing significant to justify his introduction….3/10
Raheem Lawal: A ball playing midfielder who balanced the team with neat passes from the back and played just in front of the defenders dictating the pace from deep, before his introduction Luxembourg were getting into the game but his ball holding and passes helped Super Eagles claw back into the game….6.5/10
Wilfred Ndidi: Played like a veteran in the midfield when he was introduced, the ease with which he sprayed passes tells a lot about why he is so highly rated in Belgium. He will certainly be a mainstay of this team in the future if he can maintain or improve his career growth….6.5/10
Odion Ighalo: Needed to score and got to score but wasted a one on one chance, a testimony of his low confidence in front of goal, here is hoping the goal will help him regain what he has lost in confidence that brought about the goal drought….6/10
*Daniel Martins
