The senior national team of Nigeria were yesterday beaten 1-0 by the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon in an international friendly played in Austria.

Owngoalnigeria.com rates the players on parade for Nigeria in the game which was decided in the 36th minute by a goal from Fulham midfielder Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa.

Maduka Okoye- Didn’t have a single save to make bar the goal scored by Cameroon. Looked badly sighted as Willam Ekong somehow blocked his view but if otherwise then he should have done better- 6/10

Shehu Abdullahi- Started on a shaky note but recovered brilliantly particularly in defending. Offered no route in attack as a full back even when he wasn’t under pressure- 5/10

Jamilu Collins- Combined nicely with Moses Simon on the left. Had some forays upfront where he whipped in two good balls. Didn’t really stamped his authority on the game – 5/10

William Ekong- Always willing to put his body on the line and his head where it hurts. Once again his distribution from the back need to improve as he was guilty of giving away possession cheaply- 6/10

Chidozie Awaziem – Looked good on the ball however same can’t be said about his movements without the ball. Did cut out some balls into the box smartly and helped in restricting Cameroon to just a shot on target – 6/10

Oghenekaro Etebo – His distribution, timing of passes and execution was hit and miss all through the game. Covered lot of grounds for the team but has no real effect upfront – 5/10

Wilfred Ndidi – Won more tackles than any player on the pitch and also drove the team forward even though his passes still need work. An industrious display as usual- 7/10

Alex Iwobi – Had a game to forget. He was slow, wasteful, bereft of ideas and looked very rusty all through. Playing from the right at the start didn’t help him but even when he moved to the middle he still didn’t convince- 4/10

Kelechi Iheanacho- Heavy touches, poor decision making were the highlights of his stay on the pitch. Didn’t bring his A game. A very disappointing performance- 5/10

Moses Simon – He was the only bright spark for Nigeria in attack in the first half. Almost bagged an assist with a cross to Paul Onuachu, Had an effort sailing in before it was pushed for a corner kick. Missed a glorious chance to level the tie in the second half – 7/10

Paul Onuachu- Hard to blame him when he wasn’t getting the type of service that saw him score 35 goals for Genk. Still didn’t convince in phases where he could have done better – 6/10

Substitutes:

Terem Moffi- Couple of nice passes but didn’t get the type of balls that saw him emerged as a hit for Lorient in Ligue 1 – 5/10

Ahmed Musa – Didn’t have the space to run at the Cameroonians hence his output was limited. Didn’t cover himself in glory when he hit a wayward effort from a promising position- 4/10

Anayo Iwuala – Decision making in key area was his greatest undoing for the third straight game in a Super Eagles shirt. Need to do more if he want to stay in the team – 4/10

Peter Olayinka- Didn’t get involved enough to earn a rating.

A well taken strike by Fulham midfielder André-Frank Zambo Anguissa was all the indomitable Lions of Cameroon needed to edge a keenly contested friendly against Nigeria 1-0 in their favour.

Anguisa hit home a drive from the edge of the Nigerian box In the 36th minute and it flew past goalkeeper Maduka who looked badly positioned when the ball was struck although William Troost Ekong was in his sight.

That effort was the only real attempt on goal by the Cameroon team but it was enough to earn them their first win over Nigeria in their last four games. Nigeria had chances to level and particularly dominated the second half.

The coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Gernot Rohr has released his lineup for today’s friendly game against Cameroon, Owngoalnigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

Rohr listed most of the players he is familiar with in the starting lineup with no place for any of the new players in the team for the first time.

Maduka Okoye is retained as first choice goalkeeper with the quartet of Shehu Abdullahi, Jamilu Collins, William Troost Ekong and Chidozie Awaziem in front of him as the back four.

Wilfred Ndidi will anchor a two man midfield with Oghenekaro Etebo with Alex Iwobi stationed on the left wing, Moses Simon will play from the right while Kelechi Iheanacho will operate just behind the main striker in Paul Onuachu.

Base on it, the Super Eagles will approach the game with a 4-2-3-1 formation with the hope of breaching the defence of Cameroon which has kept six clean sheets in their last eight games.

Coach of the Nigerian team Gernot Rohr is keen on maintaining his unbeaten record against Cameroon since his appointment in 2016. In three games the Nigerian team has won twice and drawn once.

Okoye
Shehu
Jamilu
Awaziem
Ekong

Etebo
Ndidi

Iheanacho
Simon
Iheanacho

Onuachu

The senior national team of Nigeria will later today take on the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon in an international friendly game in Austria.

Owngoalnigeria.com gathered that the game will kick off by 8:30pm Nigerian time at the Weiner Neustadt Stadium in Austria.

It will be played behind close doors in respect to coronavirus protocols but fans of both teams can watch the game on television as well as online. Some social media outlets will also cover the game live.

On television it will be on BeIN sports for fans of both teams based abroad with online portals also having acess to the game. One of such is Hesgoal.com.

Alternatively, the Nigeria Football Federation broadcast outlet NFF TV stationed on thenff.com will also air the game live. It will also be on their YouTube and Facebook portals.

Players of the Super Eagles of Nigeria unknowingly revealed the formation the team will play later today when they take on Cameroon in an international friendly in Austria.

The tactics was leaked in the video where they were inducting players who were invited to the team for the first time namely Anayo Iwuala, John Noble, Terem Moffi, Marcus Abraham and Valentine Ozornwafor.

During the process which was held at the team’s hotel after dinner, the tactics board was captured in the video released after the induction of the newly invited players.

Base on it, the Super Eagles will approach the game with a 4-2-3-1 formation with the hope of breaching the defence of Cameroon which has kept six clean sheets in their last eight games.

Coach of the Nigerian team Gernot Rohr is keen on maintaining his unbeaten record against Cameroon since his appointment in 2016. In three games the Nigerian team has won twice and drawn once.

The Super Eagles of Nigeria rounded up their preparations for today’s friendly game with a practice match among themselves under the supervision of coach Gernot Rohr and his technical crew.

Owngoalnigeria.com can exclusively reveal that all players took place in the training session with the goalkeepers going through their regular drills under the guidance of coach Alloy Agu.

The players had the tradition warm up session before switching to ball works and later a test game between themselves with Rohr keen on seeing how they will execute the formation for today’s game.

During the test match Moses Simon who played for the team that will likely start today’s game scored a sublime free kick which left goalkeeper John Noble stranded.

Paul Onuachu was also on fire proving that his 35 goals haul for Genk is not a fluke with a brace past same goalkeeper as they trash a team which had players likely to be dropped to the bench in today’s game.

Former Nigeria international defender Efe Ambrose has called on coach of the team Gernot Rohr and players of the Super Eagles not to take today’s friendly against Cameroon for granted.

Ambrose said the rivalry between both countries is so intense that every game should be seen as a competitive one no matter the level which it is played.

The game which will be played in Austria is to enable both teams prepare adequately for the start of the World Cup 2022 qualifiers which starts later in June. Ambrose however want the Super Eagles to make a statement with the game.

“ Any game between Nigeria and Cameroon shouldn’t be seen as a friendly. There is always an edge to it. The rivalry between the two countries is intense. Rohr and the players shouldn’t joke with the game”, Ambrose told Owngoalnigeria.com.

“ Also with the new format for the World Cup qualifiers it will be better to get a win. Maintain your placement in the rankings in order to get a favourable draw for the final
rounds. This is more than a friendly and the boys should know”, he concluded.

Coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Gernot Rohr has picked the duo of Kelechi Iheanacho and Paul Onuachu to lead the Super Eagles quest for goals in today’s friendly against Cameroon.

The duo scored a whopping 54 goals between them last season with Onuachu scoring 35 for Genk to finish as top scorer and also player of the season in the Belgium league. Iheanacho plundered 19 for Leicester City leading them to a first FA Cup triumph in their history.

Rohr is hoping the duo will replicate their form in tonight’s game as the Super Eagles seek to maintain their recent impressive run against Cameroon. They are yet to loose in their last four meetings with the Indomitable Lions.

Under the guidance of Rohr, they have played Cameroon thrice, twice in the World Cup 2018 qualifiers and at the AFCON 2019 knockout stage. Super Eagles won two of the games and drew one which was away in Yaoundé.

Coach is the senior national team of Cameroon Toni Conceicao says his team will approach tomorrow’s friendly game against Nigeria with all of the seriousness the game deserves.

The coach said it’s a game his team want to win as it will boost their morale heading into the 2022 World Cup qualifiers which starts later in the year.

Conceicao is keen on his players putting up a fine performance tomorrow and also in the second game in four days time. He did admit that he will try some new players in the game.

“ It’s a game we want to win because to us it’s not just a friendly game. You look at Nigeria and Cameroon as two rivals who share a common border as countries. Our approach will be to win even though we will try some players to see how they react “, he said.

Coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Gernot Rohr has defended his decision to hand a late call up to Spartak Trnava of Slovakia defender Izuchukwu Jude Anthony.

Izuchukwu was drafted into the team yesterday to swell the number of the players in camp to 21 ahead of tomorrow’s international friendly game against Cameroon. Nigeria have been hit with series of withdrawals which are injury related.

The most affected area has been the defence of the team and Rohr explained it was why the duo of Izuchukwu and Valentine Ozornwafor were drafted in as emergency cover ahead of the game.

He said the idea was to get players who don’t require an entry visa to travel to Austria because the coronavirus pandemic has made traveling around Europe difficult.

“ We need more defenders because the players who withdrew from the games are mainly in defence. Izuchukwu isn’t new to me and the crew same as Valentine. We called them up to cover up for the absence of some players”, Rohr explained.

“ They were the obvious choice because of ease of travel. The virus has made it difficult for many to travel around Europe. We hope they give us what we need on Friday”.