Football Nigeria -- Eagles Etcetera

Nigeria’s Coach Gernot Rohr may not have debuted any of the current starting players in the Super Eagles but he has made some key changes. Unfortunately, the media have rarely commented on these changes. I will comment on them by focusing on five key ones. The formation and focus on defense first . Gernot has moved away from Nigeria’s most recently preferred use of the 4-3-3 as the base formation with a great deal of attention to attack. Instead, Rohr has chosen to play cautiously, with a base formation of 4-2-3-1 that changes, at times, to 4-5-1.   From these formations, particularly the 4-5-1, he relies on quick counters, using players wide, and widening passing lanes. His use of 4-5-1 in Yaounde, particularly, exposed what I believe Rohr will use at the World Cup against a favored opponent. The game in Yaounde has been, in my opinion, the most clinical display by Nigeria for years. Besides conceding an unforced penalty kick, Nigeria gave Cameroon few decent chances in fro...

Alex Iwobi, who had missed the crucial two games against Cameroon, returned against Zambia to send Nigeria to the 2018 World Cup in Russia. His solitary goal was all that was needed to shut up the Zambians. Iwobi had lost his starting spot and no one could argue that he had not played his best until today against the Zambians when his energy, runs, and his intelligent passing proved decisive.  While Iwobi definitely was the man of the match, Leon Balogun again, was at the heart of Nigeria's defense. He is quickly emerging into the mold of great Nigerian center backs. Not only did he dominate at the heart of the defense over the Zambian striker but he frequently cleaned up mistakes by others. It was also a welcome sight to watch Ola Aina take his debut by the scruff and in one move down the left a cross provided by him spoke volumes. The days are now numbered for Elderson Echiejile on the left who started strong but was poor after half time. This was not Nigeria's best ...

These five keys will decide the Nigeria v Zambia qualifier Saturday. Nigeria is at home in Uyo but unmistakably, the team that is under greater pressure will be Zambia. Zambia must earn a point or three away from home to have a chance of qualifying for their first World Cup. A point only provides a dim chance! Thus, a win is preferred and to win away in Nigeria requires a high level of motivation. Nigeria can qualify in Uyo on Saturday or wait to do so in Algeria in the next month. That should be motivation for Nigeria but not necessarily one that induces extreme pressure. 1.               Victor Moses starts at the top of his game. Moses has become the barometer for Nigeria. When he plays well, Nigeria always has a big chance and Nigeria is yet to lose a home game played by Moses. Zambia will clearly strategize to take both Moses and Mikel Obi off their game but planning to do so ...

In an earlier blog , I attempted to predict who Gernot Rohr really is as per his management of Nigeria’s Super Eagles. That was more than a year ago. Has anything changed since then? Are there new tell-tale signs of the type of manager he is? Well, that is what I explore here. How Rohr Sets up his Team It is obvious now that Rohr believes in being cautious than being adventurous in his overall thinking about the game. On the field, he clearly prefers to set up in a 4-5-1 defensively or 4-2-3-1/4-2-1-3 when attacking.   The way the team played in a 1-1 draw in Yaounde is, in my opinion, the way Rohr prefers to play and the way the Nigerian team will play in Russia in 2018 if the team gets there. For the first time, the team exhibited a high level of discipline that practically shut down Cameroon. Watching that game, Cameroon was unlikely to score, except from the spot, even if the game had gone on for three hours! There were almost no chances to shoot at goal for the host tea...

Though this was a winnable World Cup qualifier in Yaounde but the 1-1 draw is a result that Nigeria would take happily. After all, Nigeria achieved its ultimate goal of taking at least four of six points in the two World Cup qualifiers against the African champions. In many ways, Nigeria's performance today was excellent. It was disciplined from the opening minute to the last, just as it was in Uyo. It never really appeared that Cameroon could find space around the Nigerian defense and it is telling that Cameroon's only goal came from the penalty spot after Ezenwa had made contact with a Cameroon player deep in the box. Nigeria played a very disciplined game with nine players constantly in position behind the ball and in a structural shape that consistently frustrated Cameroon as Cameroon attempted to play through the cauldron that channeled the free ball to defenders. It may have been Nigeria's most disciplined display under Rohr. Further, what was exhibited was Rohr...