Torino of Italy defender Ola Aina was largely regarded as the best player on the pitch for Nigeria in their 1-0 win over Burundi despite CAF handing the official Man of the Match award to Wilfred Ndidi.
Aina capped his performance with a backheel pass to Odion Ighalo for the lone goal of the game in the 79th minute, a goal which didn’t just hand Nigeria all three points but also helped them move to the top of the group after the 2-2 draw between Guinea and Madagascar.
Speaking on the backheel pass, the 22 year old said he saw the run of Ighalo and had to find a way to pick him out and with the his back to goal the backheel was the only way he could play him in.
” The run from Ighalo was there for me and with the way Burundi were lined up I had to resort to threading the pass with my heel and it came out correctly. It’s about trying to work out something for the good of the team, I’m happy it came off and worked for us”, Aina said.
Dropped from the squad for the World Cup 2018 in Russia, he has cemented his spot as one of the first choice defenders of the team be it at right or left full back. However with Jamilu Collins out injured he could continue in his role as the left full back of the team.
