The decision to start Wilfred Ndidi ahead of Musa Mohammed has generated debates in Nigeria especially as he was preferred ahead of Shehu Abdullahi who has also played as a right back for the Eagles.
Ndidi who is predominantly a central defender during his days with the various arms of Nigeria Youth teams, the Under-17 and 20s precisely have been converted to a defensive midfielder by his Belgian side.
Playing him as a right full back in an important game like the World Cup qualifiers between Nigeria and Zambia caused a lot of concerns for football loving Nigerians.
However shortly after the 2-1 victory we gathered that, Rohr went for Ndidi ahead of Musa and Shehu due to his marking abilities as opposed to the attack minded duo who have played in the position in the past.
Nigeria needed to keep things tight at the back and, Rohr noticed Ndidi marks better and doesn’t give out fouls around the edge of the box than most defenders in the team.
Aside that his aerial abilities in defending set piece in training won Rohr over, as the manager drilled his defenders on how to defend set piece from which they expect Zambia to threaten prior to the game.
