Before the Super Eagles of Nigeria play their next game against South Africa, coach of the Nigerian team Gernot Rohr must address three problematic areas noticed by Owngoalnigeria.com editorial team during the 4-2 win over Cameroon in the round of 16.
1. Space Between Midfield & Defence – Against Cameroon the gap between the midfield and attack was partly the reason why Cameroon scored their first goal and to an extent the second. Against South Africa Rohr will need his defensive midfielder Wilfred Ndidi to be more discipline in his positioning in front of defence and not high up the pitch ‎like he did severally against Cameroon.
2. Defend Crosses Better – What Leon Balogun brings to the Super Eagles defence goes beyond his ability to defend as an individual. In his absence the duo of William Troost-Ekong and Kenneth Omeruo have struggled to find the same cohesion when paired with Balogun. Crosses from open play thrice caught them out and in one of such situations Cameroon profited to go two goals up. South Africa are known to favour balls into the box, hence the need for Rohr to work on his team defence before the game on Wednesday.
3. Make Good Use Of Corner Kicks – With the height of Chidozie Awaziem, Kenneth Omeruo and William Troost-Ekong, Super Eagles should be a threat to teams from set pieces particularly corner kicks. Nigeria got as many as seven against Cameroon but failed to sufficiently trouble them from any. A routine on how to make use of corner kicks will no doubt help the team in performing well against South Africa.
