Nigeria’s Super Eagles lost their warm up match to Czech Republic with eight days to the FIFA World Cup in Russia. Here are three takeaways from the match ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
1) Clumsy Mid-field
Although head coach Gernot Rohr approached the match with a 3-5-2 formation, the midfield failed to click. They kept losing the ball easily and failed to respond to the set pieces which actually cost them the game. The midfield led by Mikel Obi failed to link up with the defense which could work against the Eagles in their World Cup opener against Croatia who are blessed with one of the world’s creative midfielder in Luca Modric. Recuperating Wilfred Ndidi appeared not 100% fit.
2) Poor Attacking Strength
Eagles attackers have still not shown that grit in front of goal. And going to the World Cup, it must be a concern for Rohr. From statistics of today’s match, Eagles point man only had two shots at goal after 69 minutes of action. Victor Moses also did not help matter. He held on to the ball and tried to be stylish. Moses must also work on his set pieces if the team must make a headway in Russia. Kelechi Iheancacho, Ahmed Musa and Simy who were brought in showed they can’t be counted on when the chips are down. Wednesday’s substitution made no impact unlike the England friendly at Wembley. This is not too good for a team that is in the same group with Argentina and Croatia who boast ferocious attackers.
3) Tactical Lapses from Uzoho
Uzoho complains at the wrong time. As the keeper, his responsibility is to save the ball or have the ball out of play. Uzoho was seen complaining while the ball was still in play sometimes in the second half. If Uzoho had pushed the ball harder from the penalty box, perhaps Czech’s Tomas Kalas may not have had the advantage of a re-bound that led to the only goal of the match in the 25th minute.
Nigeria’s Build-up Matches for Russia 2018
Nigeria Scored 4 against Argentina conceded 2
Nigeria Scored 1 Nigeria against Poland conceded 0
Nigeria Scored 0 against Serbia conceded 2
Nigeria Scored 1 against DR Congo conceded 1
Nigeria Scored 1 against England conceded 2
Nigeria Scored 0 against Czech Republic conceded 1
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