Sports

AFCON: Super Eagles Stars Get High Ratings From Whoscored, Aina Voted MVP

Super Eagles players got rave reviews from statistics based website Whoscored. com following their impressive 1-0 win against seven time African champions Egypt on Tuesday.

Kelechi Iheanacho scored the only goal of the game and was awarded the official Man of the Match by the Confederation of African Football, CAF, though Whoscored. com had another idea about who the prize should go to.

Right back Olaoluwa Aina was the website’s best player in the clash between the giants of African football with a rating of 7.81 ahead of the duo of Zaidu Sanusi and Joe Aribo with the ratings of 7.67 and 7.60 respectively.

Nigeria had fifteen shots in total for 90 minutes of with five of them on target.

The duo of Chidera Ejuke and Taiwo Awoniyi registered a joint-game high two efforts on target each and Iheanacho with one ending up in the back of the net.

Aina, Sanusi, Omeruo, Aribo, Simon and Awoniyi won one foul each; the Union Berlin striker displayed the defensive side of his game by committing a game-high five fouls, one less than the whole Egyptian team combined.

Manchester United target Wilfred Ndidi finished with a passing accuracy of 85.2 percent, a team-high figure for those that started the game, the Leicester City star was the best Super Eagles player in aerial duels with four won and finished with a team-high 69 touches to place first ahead of Aina (68).

Villarreal winger Samuel Chukwueze may not have posted a goal scoring feat but he recorded four, key passes more than any other player that tasted action for both teams.

I field captain Troost-Ekong’s seven clearances was a joint game-high figure, along with Egypt’s Ahmed Hegazy.

Nantes forward Moses Simon succeeded with four take-ons, a game-high figure, ahead of Zaidu Sanusi (3) , Ola Aina (2) and Zizo (2).

The Fulham owned player registered a game-high six tackles while the Porto fullback stood out in interceptions with three, the most by a Nigeria player.

Izuchukwu Okosi

Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc. In October 2004, Okosi joined Complete Communications Limited, publishers of Complete Sports newspaper and Complete Football magazine as a reporter and later script writer for the Complete Sports studio. He worked there for 13 years until October 2017. Okosi also worked various times as Correspondent, Content creator and Editor at Sports Market International Magazine, Opera News, All Nigeria Soccer Media and Iconic Media Watch. He also undertook freelance writing gigs for some local and international organizations. Okosi is a member of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Association of Movie Producers (AMP), Association of Voiceover Artistes of Nigeria (AVOA), Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) and Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ). He has been part of cast in some Nollywood movies and radio dramas including Blood Money 2, Scores To Settle, Dead End 2, Another Campus Tale and Battle Line. Aside mainstream media and the entertainment industry, he has interests in scouting/unearthing of talents in the sports and creative sectors, exports business and property development.