Super Eagles bounced back to winning ways with a convincing 2-0 victory over the Central African Republic on Sunday at the Stade Omnisport in Douala, Cameroon.
First-half goals from Leon Balogun and Victor Osimhen helped the Super Eagles put behind them the embarrassing defeat to the same opponents in Lagos four days earlier.
Completesports.com‘s Augustine Akhilomen highlights some of the major talking points from the game.
Leon Balogun Scores His Very First Goal For Nigeria
Balogun netted his first goal for the Super Eagles since making his debut in 2014. The goal has definitely redeemed him of the goal the team conceded against CAR at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos on Thursday. He took his goal really well, smashing home from a deep Awaziem cross.
Eagles Must Stop Needless Long Balls
In the absence of a creative midfielder, the Super Eagles resorted to playing long balls that hardly resulted to any goal scoring opportunities for Nigeria against a well organised Central Africa Republic defence. Gernot should do well instilling a confident team versed in consistent ball-passing game plans.
Musa, Finally Complete 100 caps For Nigeria
Ahmed Musa has joined the league of players in the Super Eagles that have won 100 caps for the senior national team. He has joined the likes of Vincent Enyeama and Joseph Yobo with the same record.
Osimhen – Always With An Eagle Eye For Goal
No doubt, Victor Osimhen has proven to be Nigeria’s exciting talent as it concerns goal scoring. Although he was kept quiet at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, the Napoli striker stepped his game up by netting the second goal in Douala. He could have scored a brace but his other hopeful effort was blocked by a CAR defender.
Aribo – Efficient In The Midfield
Joe Aribo made amends of his poor display in the first leg by improving his ball distribution in the midfield against the Wild Beasts of Central African Republic.
Simon Moses – Holds Play Too Long
Despite his energetic performance, Moses Simon was often guilty of slowing down a progressive attack each time the Super Eagles were on the offensive play.
6 Key Observations In Nigeria’s 2-0 Win Over CAR In Douala
22 Comments
Congrats@all. We redeemed our image but one thing is very glaring. Absence of Iwobi still affected the team. It’s a big eye opener that anytime Iwobi doesn’t play the Eagles struggle in the final third. So the task before Rohr is to quickly get Iwobi’s deputy going forward. To this end I Wana suggest, Ejaria, Olise , Eze, and Nwakali: I will have put Ejuke in the mix but seems he doesn’t have that sweet last ball in him and dribbles to the gallery. Another thing I observe is that our wingers are not effective and not to know their job.imagine two matches no assist by Simon or Ejuke. Pls can we Victor Moses back.i swear we need that guy. Till date no one of our present winger got his swagger, tenacity and output. Good luck SE . Good luck fans .Gooduck 9ja.
We don’t need Moses because we are well stocked in his department……Kalu Simon Iwobi Musa Onyekuru and incoming Lukeman…….Let us move forward abeg
Victor Moses to come and do what? And who is eze who does not want byonolay for us. We go beg am. Olise well but he is still not ready.
Yes we miss Iwobi but I tell you, Ejuke is fast fitting into that slot. God bless Nigeria.
Rohr’s Stay of Execution (part 1)_
Beleaguered defensive duo Leon Balogun and William Troost-Ekong (aka Oyinbo Wall) made amends for their slipshod first leg displays today with a goal and assist as Nigeria sent Central Africa Republic to the gallows.
Balogun (well positioned deep in the opposition 18 yard box) rose highest to smash home a volley with vengeance giving Nigeria a deserved lead in 29 minutes before his partner in crime Ekong swung a delicious cross for Osimhen to slot home from close range to give Nigeria a commanding 2 goals lead 46 minutes.
2:0 to Nigeria it ended.
The fans demanded a response from the Super Eagles following the shambolic 1:0 home loss to the same opposition. How fitting that it was the main culprits in that match that were at the forefront of making amendments here.
From coach Rohr who tweaked the formation to the much more effective 3-5-2 (which I always advocate) to the players who gave 110% performances, they were all brilliant.
Rohr’s Stay of Execution (part 2)_
Is this victory likely to support granting Rohr a stay of execution in the eyes of fans? I doubt it. For many, that ship has long sailed: Rohr’s methods are rubbish and he has to go, would be their conclusion.
For me, it is much too late in the day to be talking about replacing Rohr. I would recommend he is afforded space and support to finish what he started. Back then, my view was that his contract should never have been renewed. We should have sought a fresh start after the 2019 Afcon. But to replace him so close to the next Afcon and neck deep in world cup qualifiers could just be suicidal.
Looking for the right coach willing to work with this NFF can be tricky. Also, the manager will need to bond with the players and this takes time. A few feathers will need to be ruffled to get the right mix of players for the coach’s preference and this can cause revolt!
But there was no revolt in Rohr’s dressing room today as his Super Eagles ran riot within a 20 minute spell in the first half to send the Beast of CAR to the gallows.
The red rag to my bull concerning Coach Rohr is that he doesn’t seem to learn from experience.
From the 4:2 demolition of Argentina in 2017 and the second half against England in 2018, it became clear to me that Rohr’s Super Eagles play with freedom, flair and fervour with the 3-5-2 formation. Yet, the German has to wait until damage is done before reverting to it.
Rohr’s Stay of Execution (part 3)_
Against CAR today, Rohr seemingly reverted to this formation reluctantly and the results were there for all to see.
Balogun having 2 other centre defenders behind him could venture forward to score.
Osimhen benefitted from having a strike partner and Moses Simon’s skills were put to better use as a wing-back.
And our midfield clicked a lot better. In short, they seem to be able to express themselves more fluently with this set up (I still remember how Iwobi wiped the floor with the Argentina in the 2017 friendly.
Rohr’s Stay of Execution (Final part )_
Never mind the quality of the opposition, the brand of football played by the Super Eagles today was beautiful to the eye. It was pristine, purposeful and polished. My recommendation would be for Rohr to make this his default formation.
Although Nigeria still lead the pack with 9 points, the group is wide open and anything can still happen.
Hopefully, the shock loss to CAR in the first leg would serve as a cautionary tale to Rohr and his boys that they cannot afford to be lackadaisical with any more matches from here on.
They might have scaled this hurdle, the battles for hearts and minds and (crucially) qualification to the world cup are all far from won.
Well written piece@deo. Always a great read.
I do agree with you that the 3-5-2 seems to work for us. It kind of suit our players’ style in terms of fast pace and wing play. It allows us to spread the game and become less predictable with the movement of our players.
It also gives us the defensive tenacity we need. Awazeim was a positive addition today.His presence gave enough cover and confidence to allow Balogun go further forward without being panicked.
It was a much needed win which I hope would spun the Coach and the team to be consistently serious with every game going forward. The spirit should be “No more mr Nice guy”; ” the battles for heart and mind and qualification for the world cup are all far from won.” And off course there is an Afcon that needs to be won!
That said, I would enjoy today’s deserved victory. It was a worthy response.
Congrats Super Eagles. Congrats Rohr.Congrats Nigerians. for getting back on track. We look towards November with belief and conviction.
Well said, Deo.
Playing 3 center backs in a 3-5-2 or 3-4-3 formation is optimal for these group of players. They express themselves better with 3 center backs. And they are also stronger defensively.
Apart from the 3 center backs, the other reason they played much better today is the elephant in the room…..THE GOOD PITCH!
Aribo’s improved showing is perhaps 90% attributable to the pitch. He was always going to do better on a good pitch. It is not a coincidence that the last time he impressed was against Brazil and Ukraine. The common denominator is that those matches were also played on lush green grass. The pitch had the same positive effect on the rest of the squad.
It is now clear to see how NFF ONIGBESE have been sabotaging our qualification campaign by having us play our home matches on awful surfaces. The 4-4 draw against Sierra Leone and the CAR defeat WILL NEVER have happened on a good pitch. Never! I’m convinced of this.
I once joked that we should consider making Cameroon our home ground. I’m not so sure this is a joke anymore. We perhaps shold seriously consider this, in the light of NFF ONIGBESE’S incompetence.
What we desperately need to fix now is our goal-scoring malaise.
We miss WAY TOO MANY chances. Chances that we should be putting away with ease. Osimhen’s second half miss today comes to mind. Ditto Awoniyi’s miss in Lagos. On both occasions, the forwards were denied a goal by CAR defenders on the goal line. Our forwards need to be much more ruthless than this. We will pay dearly for missed chances such as these against superior opposition.
If we fix that and perfect this 3 center-back approach, we will play better, and more importantly, we will be more difficult to score against. And if we’re more difficult to score against, that makes us more difficult to beat!
Im just wondering if anyone can clear Suarez’s or Cavani’s or even our own Sadio Mane’s balls off the line if presented with such gaping post opportunities.
Someone should pls remind me of any instance where such happened with those calibre of ruthless fellows.
A player like Messi will even lift the ball up a bit so that even if you choose to use your hand you still wouldn’t reach it.
Seriousness, Hunger, Focus. That’s what I want from this team. Slimani already has 6 goals as at matchday 3 for Algeria to be leading the overall Africa qualifying series chart. He wouldn’t be leading the scoring chart if he were that profligate and tame in front of goal like our boys are proving to be in these qualifiers.
And the irony, Dr. Drey, is that we supposedly have so many “good” strikers. We are supposedly spoilt for choice when it comes to strikers. How can someone who lives near the river have no water to wash his hands? We have all these strikers, where are the goals?
Abi striker na for mouth?
I am not surprised that we won. However, it is a big surprise to me that most guys out here didn’t notice that the Teslim Balogun pitch actually made the job very tough for the super eagles. I knew it that Stade Omnisport in Douala will expose the wild beast and it did. Going forward, NFF should forget the paltry Naira they get from Sanwo Olu and go back to Akwa Ibom International Stadium or the National stadium in Abuja when it is officially ready. the people in authority seems to take the importance of location, time and weather for granted. The Brazilians will NEVER think along that line. The same mistake we made against Angola on our way to elimination in the 2006 world cup in Kaduna just repeated itself in Lagos. I hope we’ve learnt some lessons this time around. NO MORE TESLIM BALOGUN FOR SUPER EAGLES PLEASE!
God bless you. Nest of Champions in Uyo is truly the home of Super Eagles. Let’s leave politics , Lagos do not have good stadium for quality football.
Fair play
I’m happy we won. But still very disappointed in the team. Teams like Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia thoroughly beat opponents that they are supposed to beat by 4, 5 or even 6 goals as we see this past week. But as for Naija we will either lose to them, or if we manage to win it will be by 1 zip, 2 zip or 2-1 score-line. BARELY do we ever win convincingly over weaker opponents and yet we boast in osimhen and others to have a prolific attack. And people are rejoicing that we won today.. LOLOL. Is it coach Rohr’s tactical ineptitude or the players just always seem to not give too much effort when they play for Nigeria while they are busy making team of week in europe consistently. I pray that the harsh disappointment and heart break from super eagles I foresee ahead wont actually happen by God’s grace. It’s well.
Exactly my thought. Well said @ike.
I know all that matters is 3 points and a win but the way we play and miss Chances might come back to haunt us and this will be a heartbreak but we can also take solace in the fact that we are missing 4 key players in Chukwueze, Iwobi, Ndidi, and Etebor but honestly with what we played in the last 2 games it will be hard to overcome established teams like Senegal, Morocco, Algeria, and Ivory Coast.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCc3L5TnNjM
Regardless of what we accomplish this year, one thing I am celebrating is the discovery of this boy Ejuke.
We are indeed blessed in this country. For a country with an almost useless football federation, sub-standard league, nonexistent grassroots program, unpaid national team coaches and players, lack of proper stadia, WE KEEP ON DISCOVERING SUBLIME TALENTS. It’s incredible indeed.
Some are already calling Ejuke a Jay Jay in the making.
Imagine Ejuke, Osimhen and Chukwueze in the attack!
All we need from these guys is more end product. More goals, more assists. The balling ability is already there in abundance.
Ejuke in particular is just a step away from being pursued up and down by the biggest clubs in the world. End product, Ejuke, end product is what is missing in your game.
Dribble and take the shot, or make the pass. Dribble with a purpose in mind. Dribble to achieve something. Dribble intelligently.
Hahahaha…haha. @ Brodaman Pompei, your love for ejuke go suck watermelon dry in a second ooo. Ejuke without doubt has that bundle of talent but people demanding he be drafted to the N0 10 position, will cast stones on him if he allows himself to be deceived by their calls. Ejuke is most effective cutting in from the left. So like you rightly pointed out up there an Ejuke on the left sandwiching Osimene with the wazza dazzler Chuzzy on the right will cause loads of work to manage for opponents defence. Attacking midfielders ala NO.10 aren’ t necessarily dribbling wizards but their main attribute is their 360 degree view/play on the pitch. Their body always so flexible to change direction/degrees at anytime, to link up other players. In summary their main job is to make other players, including the defenders play with ease; as well as come to the team rescue to score when scoring is becoming difficult. As for the SE of today the only player we have that come very close to that is Iwobi though he has to improve his tenecity and shootings. Others that might come to deputise for Iwobi are Tom DELE, Ovie EJaria, Olise but I seldom mention Olise because he seems to be struggling to make his mind for nigeria. Two other that are pure N0 10 though quite young, are Amoo and Tosin Kehinde.
Long balls resulted in Nigeria’s poor performance at the 2018 World Cup. I wonder if Gernot Rohr watches the matches of Europan and South Americans. Maybe working in Africa has blinded him to modern football
Hehehehehe, my brother Glory, wetin man go do na?
Since Jay Jay left the scene, we’ve been looking for a guy with the skills and the courage to take on opponents. A player like Ejuke can be a source of freekicks and penalties in difficult games. Honestly, players like these are worth their weight in gold.
How did Argentina win the world cup in 1986? They had a gem named Maradona. Their strategy was to just give him the ball and let him do his thing, while the rest of the squad take their positions around him. That’s all.
A player that can hold the ball, dribble opponents easily with a view to creating chances, is golden. That is, if placed in the hands of a coach who knows how to use him.
The only downside to his game, as Dr. Drey and others have mentioned, is the lack of goals and assists.
We need him to be more purposeful. The ability is already there.