Afrigather Yesterday, the coach of the Nigerian Nationwide group, Jose Vitor Peseiro, launched the names of the gamers representing the nation on the forthcoming AFCON event held in Ivory Coast subsequent yr.
With a number of notable omissions and extensively sudden inclusions, Soccernet.ng takes a have a look at the picks of the Tremendous Eagles head coach to state the positives and the negatives of the gamers set to do it once more subsequent yr.
Positives:
1. Management and Expertise
The common age of the squad stands at 26.36, and for a reasonably younger group, the coach’s inclusion of skilled gamers within the group was vindicated. Ahmed Musa and Kenneth Omeruo have been part of the group that gained the 2013 AFCON version of the event, and the management of each gamers will assist tutor the youthful gamers within the group.
2. Plethora of attacking choices
Victor Osimhen, Victor Boniface, Ademola Lookman, Sadiq Omar, and Kelechi Iheanacho amongst others, present the abundance of attacking threats the Tremendous Eagles pose up entrance.
Osimhen and Boniface, set to pair up entrance in Peseiro’s 4-4-2 formation, have been in good goalscoring type for his or her membership facet, and if the coach can harness such superb type, the Tremendous Eagles are set to soar excessive in Ivory Coast.
Negatives:
1. Absence of home-based gamers
Just one home-based participant was included in Jose Peseiro’s squad. Goalkeeper of NPFL Champions Enyimba F.C. and Olorunleke Ojo have been the one ones to make the checklist, with no outfield NPFL participant included within the checklist.
As compared, the final time Nigeria gained the event, six home-based gamers have been fielded by the then-Nigerian coach, Stephen Keshi.
The house-based gamers proved pivotal as Sunday Mba scored the purpose that gained the event within the closing, and Geoffrey Oboabana was rock stable on the again alongside 20-year-old Kenneth Omeruo. With the exclusion of outfield home-based gamers, many Nigerian followers really feel the great luck attraction that aided the group in 2013 is perhaps off in Ivory Coast subsequent yr.
2. The goalkeeping drawback persists
Stanley Nwabali, Olorunleke Ojo, and Francis Uzoho have been the goalkeepers named by the Portuguese tactician. Nwabali has a cap underneath his belt. In the meantime, Ojo has but to make an look for the nationwide group, hinting that Uzoho will most definitely be Peseiro’s most popular purpose alternative on the AFCON event.
In latest instances, the performances of the Omonia S.C. goalkeeper for the nationwide group haven’t been nice, and his inclusion within the group, with no different recognised goalkeeper set to rival him for the beginning berth, has Nigerian soccer followers nervous.
3. The midfield choices are skinny
The profiles of the midfield gamers in Peseiro’s group are fairly worrisome. Frank Onyeka, Raphael Onyedika, and Wilfred Ndidi are destroyers. In the meantime, Joe Aribo and Alex Iwobi are attacking midfielders.
The absence of a artistic box-to-box profile in the course of the park places an excessive amount of burden on the strikers and the wingers to create possibilities. It may additionally imply some midfielders must play out of place the place they’d be much less efficient, and an damage to a participant would depart the area void.
