14th October, 2020
By Preye Campbell
Hopefully, the just concluded round of friendly fixtures should give Gernot Rohr quality assessment and idea for adjustment with his Super Eagles troops.
The Super Eagles played a better game against Tunisia than that against Algeria, but it ended in a 1-1 draw against the Carthage Eagles.
On the positive side, the games may have provided some much-needed group bonding for a team just playing their first games in 2020.
With a few departures and with the influx of greenhorns, it ought to take time for this Super Eagles group to gel.
That will most likely be Rohr’s opinion of his side. Add that to the absence of key players like Wilfred Ndidi, Oghenekaro Etebo and Victor Osimhen.
For the want of positivity, one good aspect to consider is the quality of the opposition teams.
In Algeria and Tunisia, Nigeria played the African champions and the current second-best team in Africa. We wouldn’t have expected that this side would stream roll these North African sides.
For fair assessment however, Rohr will want to improve his central/attacking midfield area ahead of November’s crucial fixtures.
Again, that part is owing to the absence of Ndidi, Etebo and Osimhen in the friendly games, but by now, any replacement coming to this Eagles set-up should be just as adequate as any ‘regular’ player.
The new Super Eagles team should ooze quality and confidence. Both were lacking in some parts of the friendly games.
Going back to the arm of positivity, it is a good thing that some of these weaknesses were exposed in both games. An illusion would have been a great danger as we move into the 2021 AFCON qualifying games.
With that, the new Eagles are not yet ‘Super’, and it is down to the coaches to operate on the weak points of this team ahead of November.