But to say that would be to disregard Iran's part in this stalemate. Carlos Quieroz's side was resolute, well drilled and organized, and for all of Nigeria's difficulties in attack, they deserve credit for the determination and fight they brought to their task - even if they prove less successful against Argentina and Bosnia- Herzegovina.
There were no surprises in the Eagles starting eleven, it was pretty much the same team that won the Afcon last year - except for Azeez in midfield and Oshaniwa at left back in place of the injured Echiejile. If this was supposed to be a 4-3-3 it quickly morphed into 4-2-3-1, with Mikel and Onazi operating side by side as a double pivot, and Azeez further forward, supposedly to support Emenike, along with wingers Musa and Moses.
Iran made changes too, leaving Ghoochanejad upfront and moving Dejagah, wide as part of five man midfield.
The Eagles approach was to get the ball forward as quickly as possible - using their pace down the flanks and long passes seeking out Emenike - and it almost yielded dividend within the first 10 minutes. Moses shot weakly after a quick lob from Mikel in the 3rd minute; a quick transition down the left in the 8th minute saw Emenike's cross cut out by a lunging Montazeri just ahead of Musa, and then Onazi shoot wide from just inside the box. In fact the Eagles did have the ball in the net during that spell, after Mikel's jump at a corner kick had forced 'keeper Daghighi to drop the ball, and I'm surprised no questions have been raised about why that 'goal' was disallowed.
Sadly, that was the closest the Eagles came to a goal. Whatever the merits or otherwise of the game plan, it all came unstuck largely as a result of poor execution, bad decision making, and a general lack of composure. Indeed, the Eagles seemed to slow down every time they needed to speed up, and then rush things when a little patience would have sufficed. And of course, Iran made things a little tougher after the first 10 minutes, by pushing Tamoriam up to pressure Mikel every time he received the ball.
Mikel and Onazi spent much of the first half launching long balls in search of Emenike and Moses, all from the centre circle, as though they'd been instructed not to leave their own half. Most of those were, of course, easily cut out by the attentive Iran defenders who sat deep, and in the process left Azeez adrift and on the fringe of the game.
Consequently, the Eagles hardly ever had ball possession in the final third - where they could do real damage - and on the few occasions that they did, they made bad choices. Like in the 26th minute; when Azeez took an extra touch on a breakaway rather than feed Emenike in a promising position. Or when Onazi led another counter down the right flank in the 35th minute, only for Emenike to, rather than hold the ball, swing an aimless ball into the box when there wasn't a single teammate in the area.
Onazi again showed that lack of patience with an ambitious shot from 25 yards in the 38th minute and, just two minutes later, Emenike, again, smashed another effort wildly off target when better options were available.
Iran defended in numbers, but it would be unfair to say they parked the bus. They came forward often when they sensed an opportunity - hence all those transition chances for Nigeria - and would have scored but for a fantastic save by Enyeama, from Goochanejad's header after Musa had carelessly conceded a corner kick.
The second half did bring a change. Mikel and Onazi now looked to push further forward, Mikel especially taking on and beating opponents as the Eagles moved further up the field. Now the double pivot was no longer stationary or stuck at the halfway line, but moved further into Iranian territory.
That brought an improvement in pass combinations and created some promising situations, especially in the last 30 minutes, after Ameobi and Odemwingie had replaced Moses and Azeez.
Odemwingie provided another outlet, like Mikel, that could take on and beat opponents with guile and skill and his ability to keep the ball, coupled with his direct running made him more of an attacking threat than Azeez had been.
The same lack of composure, impatience and poor decision-making that had dogged the first half remained a problem though, so even though the passing became shorter and the long balls were far fewer, some promising situations were still squandered. Like when, in the 60th minute, Emenike sliced a shot wastefully off target from distance after an interesting passing sequence that included Mikel, Azeez and Ameobi. Later, in the 72nd minute, Mikel picked out Musa down the right channel and Ambrose offered a great overlapping run, only for Musa to over hit his pass - just as Moses had done with Oshaniwa on the other flank in the first half.
The best attacking combo of the game came with 8 minutes left when Mikel scooped a pass over the defence for Odemwingie to control with his chest and volley wide. The ref had ruled it handball anyway, so it wouldn't have counted, but it perhaps showed an inkling of what might have been.
Overall, I didn't think this was one of those lazy Eagles performances where the players didn't seem to care. I saw a bunch of players that fought till the very end, even if their best efforts proved futile. Some late desperation contributed to a couple of late half chances for Ameobi, but also left the team vulnerable to Iran's counter attacks - like when Omeruo carelessly gave up possession high up the field.
Individually, Enyeama was solid when called upon, Omeruo looked very sharp, and Oshaniwa performed better than many expected. Mikel has taken a ton of criticism after this game, some of it justified after all those first half long balls. Yet, he was probably the most composed of the Eagles, even in the face of heavy pressure, and his second half was much better. He never stopped pushing forward, fighting through tackles and looking to play passes through. Moses and Musa, were mostly ineffective, as was Azeez, but I was most disappointed in Emenike. His play lacked composure, as evidenced by those wild shots and hurried crosses. Apart from score goals, his job is to hold up the ball and link up play. Perhaps frustration got the better of him.
And judging by some of the fan reaction that followed this match, he's not the only one.
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