Izuchukwu OkosiThe Super Eagles are in full flight and the round of 16 victory over the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon effectively places the Nigerian side as one of the contenders to win the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire after a ponderous start in their campaign.
The players put in a great shift and ace sports journalist Izuchukwu Okosi rates their performances in one of the most spectacular games in recent years by the team in the green and white jersey.
Stanley Nwabali: The Chippa United goalkeeper had little to do in terms of pulling saves but he was a great sweeper of the ball when the Lions prowled on the counterattack. He also dealt with crosses comfortably.
Hasn’t been quite tested by lethal forwards who have a knack for going for perfect placements or power to either corners of the post. Unfortunately, he was subbed off after a knee injury. 6/10.
Ola Aina: The Nottingham Forest right-back never allowed Georges-Kévin N’Koudou a sniff at the goal all evening from the right wing with his intelligent piece of defending.
Aina delivered a mix of great and average crosses into the box – one almost finding Victor Osimhen while the other was missed by Ademola Lookman as the flight of the ball was too much for the forward. 8/10.
Zaidu Sanusi: The Porto wingback was solid in his defensive duties but when he was needed to join the attacking phase, the quality of his crosses was rather too poor to help the team produce the needed results.
His indecisiveness must be checked in a subsequent game(s) otherwise a daring Bruno Onyemaechi may be required to show what he can offer.
Subbed off for Kenneth Omeruo in the 80th minute. 6/10.
William Troost-Ekong: The PAOK of Greece defender was welcomed back to the starting lineup after missing the last group game against Guinea Bissau.
Ekong was a nightmare to Frank Magri as he won his aerial and ground duels against the towering striker in what was one of the key battles in the game. 7/10.
Semi Ajayi: The West Brom centre-back took no prisoners and was ever ready for any physical battles that the Cameroonians were ready to dish out.
Ajayi scored a ninth-minute ‘goal’ that was eventually ruled out for offside by the VAR in the buildup to the goal. 8/10.
Calvin Bassey: The UK-born Nigerian star has proven to be an invaluable asset to the team and justifies why a full-fledged Nigerian playing very well in any part of the world and eligible for the Super Eagles must be considered for the team.
The likes of Bassey, Ekong, Ajayi, Iwobi, Lookman and Victor Moses before them have shown that the discrimination over full-fledged Nigerian players and those born in the diaspora must end once and for all.
Aside from providing the assist for the second goal, Bassey won 13 dues in the game, the most by any player in the 90 (plus 10 minutes of added time). 8/10.
Frank Onyeka: The Brentford midfielder played arguably his best game for the Nigerian national team on Sunday evening.
Onyeka has been one of the best players for the Super Eagles in the Afcon, his virtuoso showing against Cote d’Ivoire in the group stage proving that he is a player for the big occasion.
The loss of Wilfred Ndidi due to injury is no longer felt after all. He had nine ball recoveries in the ‘derby’ game and at one point embarked on a mazy run after dispossessing one of the opposition players. 7.5/10.
Alex Iwobi: The Fulham forward may not have played his best game for the Super Eagles on Sunday but he was part of everything good thing that the team did.
It was Iwobi who released Calvin Bassey with a through pass before his clubmate delivered a delightful cross into the box and finished off by Lookman.
The former Arsenal and Everton star also played deeply in midfield, helping to double up as the attacking players of Cameroon were denied access to the Nigerian goal.
Some of his passes were however ponderous. 6.5/10.
Moses Simon: The forward played a dual role of attacking midfielder and winger in the course of the game.
As an attacking outlet, he made good runs but his final balls were rather disappointing while on the wings, he was called back to aid Ola Aina in defensive duties which he did quite okay. 6.5/10.
Ademola Lookman: Two goal-hero and Man-of-the-Match Lookman was a menace for the Cameroonian defenders with his tricks and feints.
His movements and intelligent runs were encapsulated by the positioning to receive the cross from Bassey which he scored from. 9/10.
Victor Osimhen: The African Footballer of The Year did not score in the game but was constantly causing the Lions all sorts of problems.
Osimhen assisted for the first goal when he waltzed through defenders pouncing on the defensive error by Oumar Gonzalez to slide the ball to Lookman. 8.5/10.
The Substitutes
Kenneth Omeruo: One of the two winners of the 2013 Afcon triumph still in the squad along with Ahmed Musa, Omeruo came on in place of Zaidu Sanusi.
Omeruo brought stability to the backline as Cameroon tried to reduce the arrears just before the second goal. His introduction allowed Bassey to push forward resulting in the second goal. 5.5/10.
Francis Uzoho, Bright Osayi-Samuel, Paul Onuachu: The trio came on for Nwabali, Aina and Osimhen respectively in the latter stages of the game.
They helped in the game management as the Eagles smartly ran down the clock.
Uzoho and Osayi-Samuel get 2/10 ratings, and Onuachu merits a 3/10.
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.
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