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Nigeria got off to a flaccid start as they lost their World Cup Opener 2-0 to Croatia who picked an easy win at the Kaliningrad Stadium and now sit on top of the Group D table with 3 points, two points ahead of Argentina and Iceland who drew their first match. Former Super Eagles Captain, Austin Jay-Jay Okocha, certainly thinks that if coach Gernot Rohr had played some players in positions they have proved their strengths before now, maybe the outcome of Saturday’s match would have been very different and I do think so too. A look at how each player faired in the game and how it affected the team’s overall performance would clearly show this.

Francis Uzoho (No. 23 Goalkeeper)

Uzoho’s overall performance in the game was fair. The goalie didn’t have so many chances to prove himself to Nigerians, however he did not give in to despair even at very critical moments and that is a strong point. The goalie’s strengths are quite dominant in times where he has very good defenders in front of him, but in Saturday’s match Nigeria’s defense was nothing to write home about.

Brian Idowu (No. 2)

Very lackluster on Saturday, Idowu’s performance at the back was very unproductive for the Nigerian side.

Wilfred Ndidi (No. 4)

Ndidi’s movements and playing capabilities were largely hampered, from trying to make sure the defense is intact to sending the ball ahead, Ndidi often ran out of ideas and was not in his best performance.

William Troost-Ekong (No. 5)

Troost-Ekong defended pretty well for Nigeria, however a wrong decision in the 71st minute blotted out his record as it led to Croatia’s second goal. Troost-Ekong was at his wits end against a seasoned Juventus striker, Mario Mandzukic and in the heat of the moment he made a rash decision that won Croatia a second goal.

Leon Balogun (No. 6)

Not a very impressive performance from Leon, however not a bad one either.

Ahmed Musa (No.7)

Musa did nothing remarkable after coming in in the second half.

Oghenekaro Etebo (No. 8)

Etebo deserves the highest praise from Saturday’s matchup regardless of the own goal that deflected off his leg. He owned his composure and made a good number of passes and saves for Nigeria while maintaining to a good extent the balance behind Victor Moses and Obi Mikel.

Odion Ighalo (No. 9)

Ighalo did not get enough passes to build from, however he still did not do a lot with the chances he got and that begs the question ‘if he is the right guy to spearhead the Super Eagles strike’

Mikel Obi (Captain No. 10)

Just maybe Mikel should not be Nigeria’s playmaker. The captain was very uninspiring against Croatia. Making bad decisions on the ball were his forte in Kaliningrad. Mikel’s game was considerably unsteady and because he was Nigeria’s playmaker it greatly affected the overall team’s performance moving forward.

Victor Moses (No. 11)

Moses’ performance on Saturday came as a shock to many fans, Moses could not complete any passes and when he did it was either too soon or too late. The player kept pulling a ‘papilo’, going down each time Croatian players were on him, he was lucky to not have booked a card for pretending on Saturday.

Kelechi Iheanacho (No. 14)

The player brought life to Nigeria’s play when he came for Odion Ighalo in the 73rd minute. Given more time, maybe his performance would have secured a goal for Nigeria. If Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr can make due changes to the starting lineup of the Super Eagles, then there is every chance that Nigeria can make it past the ‘group of death’.
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This article was first published on 19th June 2018

achem

Achem Samuel is a writer and a musician, he is passionate about God and also an ardent fan of tech, sports and music.

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