Izuchukwu OkosiPrime Business Africa’s IZUCHUKWU OKOSI runs the rule on how the Super Eagles rated in Tuesday’s international friendly against former African champions Algeria.
Goalkeeper
Francis Uzoho : Omonia Nicosia goalkeeper Francis Uzoho had a poor game against Algeria and while he could not do much for the penalty scored by Riyad Mahrez, he was badly positioned for the wonder strike by Youcef Atal. 4/10.
Defenders
Ola Aina: The right back did not have one of his better days for the Super Eagles and sometimes looked uninterested. 5/10.
Zaidu Sanusi : The Porto left back had a torrid time keeping Mahrez at bay but had a better first half than the second. 5/10.
Calvin Bassey: The Ajax man was deployed in central defence along with Kelvin Akpoguma. Made a vital clearance in the first half and was not intimidated by the nippy Algerians. 7/10.
Kelvin Akpoguma: Was beaten most times by the pace of the Algerian forwards but he had some good moments nonetheless. 5.5/10.
Midfielders and strikers
Frank Onyeka The Brentford man committed the controversial foul that led to the first half penalty converted by Riyad Mahrez. His second half display however improved. 5/10.
Alex Iwobi: The Everton midfielder was inspiring with his organisation and passing range. Helped out defensively too. 7/10.
Kelechi Iheanacho: Delivered some long range shots but drifted off in the second half. 6/10.
Moses Simon: The Nantes winger was the captain of the evening for Nigeria and threatened with his pace and power. Brought down close to the penalty box in the first half but freekick came to nought. 5/10.
Ademola Lookman: The Atalanta winger had an average performance in Oran. Had a goal disallowed for offside. 5/10
Terem Moffi: The Lorient striker scored Nigeria’s only goal in the first half but was never a threat thereafter. 6.5/10.
The Substitutes
Godwin Saviour: The former youth international showed desire but was brought into the game rather late to cause any harm. 4/10.
Taiwo Awoniyi, Raphael Onyedika, Cyriel Dessers : The trio did not have sufficient time to impress individually. N/A.
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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