The senior national team of Nigeria had their second training session ahead of Saturday’s game against Benin Republic which will be their first game in the 2025 AFCON qualifiers, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
A total of 22 players were involved in the session which was supervised by caretaker coach Austine Eguavoen, with only the first choice striker of the team Victor Osimhen missing due to the completion of his move to Turkish side Galatasaray.
We pick the five major things we noticed during today’s session which lasted for almost two hours.
1. Nwabali Remains 1st Choice – Udinese’s Maduka Okoye is presently the only Nigerian goalkeeper seeing regular action in a top five European League, but it still isn’t enough for him to displace Chippa United Stanley Nwabali, who is holding on to the spot he made his own at the AFCON.
2. Overlapping Full Backs – Eguavoen was very keen on the team pushing up from the back as a unit with the full backs taking advance positions in the other half, while the wingers tuck in to give the team a 4-2-4 shape when they attack.
3. All Out Attack – It appears the idea will be to go all out from the blast of the whistle and assert themselves on Benin Republic. The coach was keen on quick transition and also heavy on shooting from outside the box.
4. Emphasis On Set Piece – The team took time to practice free kicks from different angles and it gave a slight hint on how they intend to use it against Benin Republic sensing they might have not just free kicks, but also corner kicks and throw in.
5. Three Man Attack – While the team is expected to attack with four players, head coach of the team Austine Eguavoen intends to use a three man attack of Moses Simon, Ademola Lookman and Victor Boniface. However it is subject to change if Victor Osimhen proves his sharpness when he touch down camp later today.
