I had the opportunity to catch Nigeria’s friendly against Switzerland last Tuesday – my first viewing of the Super Eagles under Berti Vogts – so I figure it’s as good a time as any to put down my thoughts on the team, or at least that game, and begin looking ahead to the Nations Cup Finals.
Taiye Taiwo settled the match with a typical thunderous strike from 20 yards, yet neither side could have drawn any kind of conclusions from a largely sluggish affair on a chilly night in Zurich.
For one thing, neither side was at full strength. The Swiss – no superpowers but good enough to reach the World Cup 2nd round last year – were without many of their better known stars: Phillipe Senderos, Alexander Frei, Patrick Muller and Marco Streller.
The Eagles were hardly at full strength either. It’s hard to determine what Berti Vogts considers his first choice eleven – assuming he has his mind made up – but one can safely assume that a Nigerian line-up without captain Nwankwo Kanu, vice-captain Joseph Yobo, midfield marvel Mikel Obi and top striker Obafemi Martins, is not exactly full strength. And I haven’t even mentioned John Utaka, Yakubu Aiyegbeni, Vincent Enyeama and Chidi Odiah – players I would consider possible starters.
Even so, Eagles’ supporters – ever expecting the world – would have been looking for a convincing win, or at the least, a performance better than the reportedly shoddy show against Australia four days earlier (I didn’t see that game).
The Eagles lined up in what, nominally, looked like a 4-3-3 formation:
Ejide – Emeghara, Shittu, Nwaneri, Taiwo – Okonkwo, Ayila, Etuhu – Odemwingie, Makinwa, Uche.
Yet, as the game progressed, they seemed to morph into a 4-4-2/4-3-1-2 hybrid, with Odemwingie – captain on the day – attacking from deep, at times in the midfield role usually filled by the now retired JayJay Okocha, at other times filling the hole-behind-the strikers a la Nwankwo Kanu.
Not that this was a bad performance against admittedly sub-par opponents. The Eagles certainly had their moments. They started the stronger of the two sides – dominating the first 20 minutes without really troubling the Swiss goal. Etuhu had a long range effort tipped round the post and Odemwingie, looking pretty sharp, saw his dipping free kick parried for a corner kick.
Then they lost their way a little in the latter part of the first half, conceding possession far too easily and creating little in attack. The Swiss had the better chances early in the second half but Ejide saved from Yakin and Djourou, and Okonkwo cleared another effort off the line.
The Eagles settled after that though, and were clearly the better side for the last 30 minutes. Uche came very close with a lob after Makinwa’s flicked header, but it took the introduction of Obinna to give the Eagles the breakthrough. His first touch was the lobbed pass from which Odemwingie set up Taiwo for the winner, and that was that.
Mission accomplished, but….the Eagles’ performance left me wondering if Vogts’ masterplan could deliver the kind of results Nigeria fans will be hankering for come January. Or maybe the right question is if he can pick the right players to make his tactics work. Yes, I know the personnel will probably be vastly different by the time the Nations Cup kick off, but still…
Here are my concerns:
The three man midfield did a fine job of shielding Shittu and Nwaneri in defence, but it also left the team severely lacking in invention and width. The one midfielder who could play wide was Odemwingie, and though he played centrally, his free role enabled him to carve out a few crosses. One would expect that the narrow midfield would open up the flanks for the full backs to attack, but it wasn’t until the second half that Emeghara and even the usually adventurous Taiwo managed to venture forward with any purpose. In addition, while the Eagles deprived the Swiss room to play in the middle of the park, they hampered their own ability to move the ball as well – too many bodies in a confined space. It was often confusing to figure out which of Ayila and Etuhu was anchoring the midfield.
Without wide players, and with the full backs seating back, it was left to the strikers to create width by chasing passes into the corners. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing – provided you have midfielders arriving in the box to finish off the crosses. Too often, Uche’s crosses were aimed for his strike partner, Makinwa, isolated in a box full of Swiss defenders. Other than that, the Eagles just tried to bully their way down the middle or lumped long balls forward for Makinwa and Uche to battle for.
For a team playing three men in midfield, ball possession is particularly important. For one thing, if the opposing team plays 4 in midfield you don’t want the 3 midfielders chasing after them all day. That’ll be a recipe for failure. In addition, they need to dictate possession in order to give the full backs ample time to get forward down the flanks and keep the pressure on the opposing team. The best 4-3-3 teams are masters at keeping the ball – watch Barcelona or Mourinho’s Chelsea. The Eagles midfield certainly didn’t keep the ball well against Switzerland, easily coughing up possession time and again. Vogts has already confessed that his midfield needs more work – or new personnel. He can certainly do better than what was on show here.
Tactics – or their execution – apart, let’s talk about the players.
GK. Austin Ejide – Messed up a decent enough performance with one dropped corner kick. Otherwise, he proved a competent shot stopper and read the game well, coming off his line to stop a goal attempt in the first half.
RB. Ifeanyi Emeghara - defended very well; quick and smart, but did little on the attacking end – understandable for a converted centre-back. But will need to attack more if he wants the job.
LB Taiye Taiwo - decent performance, impressively highlighted with a stunning goal. His positioning has improved over the past couple of seasons, and I liked his passes down the left flank, but – in the absence of wide midfielders - he needs to get forward more.
CB Obinna Nwaneri – Defended well, but careless in possession. Over-complicated simple passes and gave the ball away far too easily.
CB Danny Shittu - Sound positioning– I was impressed with the way he cut off the angles – but a little subtlety and guile, and better ball distribution, would help his game no end.
MF Dickson Etuhu – Played with energy and aggression, breaking up many Swiss attacks with his ceaseless running. A bit too clumsy for my liking though, giving away needless fouls, and I wasn’t crazy about his distribution either.
MF Yusuf Ayila – Struggled to impose himself on this game. Strong defensively and showed good distribution early on but disappeared in the midfield crowd as the game wore on.
MF Onyekachi Okonkwo – Was anonymous for most of the first half. I expected more creativity from him but he never really got going.
F Osaze Odemwingie – The pick of the lot. Was excellent in roving role behind the strikers, and his great first touch and close control prompted the best attacking moves.
F Ayo Makinwa –.Showed little aggression, had no idea in one-on-one situations and was simply too predictable. Had his moments but missed a couple of free headers, gave up possession too easily.
F Ikechukwu Uche - Direct, aggressive and eager to take on defenders, but often tried to do too much, and faded as the game wore on.
F Victor Obinna – Full of purpose, fight and invention in his 20 minutes on the pitch. Replaced Uche and set up the only goal with an impressive run and excellent pass after just one minute on the pitch.
F Manasseh Ishiaku – Didn’t really get into the game after replacing Makinwa in the 67th minute.
F Seyi Olofinjana – Came on for Ayila in a like-for-like substitution. Strong defensively, and used the ball well.
FB Rabiu Afolabi – Replaced an injured Taiwo late on. Wasn’t on long enough to make an impression.
In all, of the 15 players on show, only 4 convinced me they could fight for a starting place in a full strength Super Eagles – Shittu, Taiwo, Odemwingie and Obinna.
What would be really useful now would be a chance to see Vogts’ first choice team in action. As to what that team will look like, your guess is as good as mine and chances are we won’t know until the Eagles reach Ghana in January. But I’ll definitely be sharing my thoughts about Berti Vogts and the Eagles’ Nations Cup squad in the weeks ahead.
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