Following the Super Eagles 2-1 victory over the Taifa Stars of Tanzania in their opening fixture at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, Completesports.com’s ADEBOYE AMOSU appraises the performance of the players…
Stanley Nwabali 6/10
Nwabali impressed in the first half, but struggled a bit after the break.
Bright Osayi-Samuel 6/10
The right-back defended well in the game. He however didn’t offer much in attack.
Semi Ajayi 8/10
A solid display from the centre-back . Ajayi scored Nigeria’s first goal. He was named Man of the Match.
Calvin Bassey 7/10
Showed his class once again. The Fulham defender formed a solid partnership with Semi Ajayi.
Zaidu Sanusi 6/10
The left-back was caught out of possession in the build-up to Tanzania’s goal.
Read Also:AFCON 2025: Ajayi Named MOTM In Super Eagles’ Win Over Tanzania
Wilfred Ndidi 7/10
The captain led by example. He worked hard in midfield especially in the second half.
Alex Iwobi 7/10
Iwobi provided the assist for Semi Ajayi’s first goal. It was one of the best performances for the Super Eagles.
Samuel Chukwueze 6/10
He was close to scoring late in the half.Chukwueze was replaced by Moses Simon in the 59th minute.
Ademola Lookman 8/10
The winger scored a spectacular goal to hand Nigeria maximum points in the 52nd minute. He was lively all through.
Adams Akor 6/10
The Sevilla striker header hit the crossbar in the first half . He was replaced by Moses Simon in the 59th minute.
Victor Osimhen 6/10
Missed a couple of good chances in the game. He will hope for better luck in Nigeria’s next game against Tunisia.
Substitutes
Moses Simon 6/10
A lively display from the tricky winger. He was unlucky not to get an assist in the game.
Fisayo Dele-Bashiru 5/10
Took the place of Samuel Chukwueze one minute before the hour mark. He didn’t contribute much following his introduction.
Paul Onuachu N/A
The Trabzonspor striker replaced Victor Osimhen late in the game.
Photo by Ganiyu Yusuf
9 Comments
I didn’t notice anything remarkable about the Nigerian team last night against their opponent.
Eric Chelle has a lot of work to do with the team, especially in the middle when the captain Ndidi Onyinye is tired and out of wit. Remember he’s a Defensive Midfield Player, and at the same time the captain, he’s got his work cut out for him and he’ll need a lot of support in the middle. In such circumstances, a double pivot switch won’t be a bad idea. And that’s one area the team is blessed with quality options with Raphael Onyedika, Frank Onyeka, Ebenezer Akinisanmiro and Tochukwu Nnadi. Failure to make recourse to one of these options in the circumstances of the game in which their services are urgently required will be equal in effect to starving the team the required quality in the middle, under utilising the options available at our disposal of the team, and ultimately putting the team under severe pressure, especially the defence, which is quite vulnerable under relentless attack.
Reviewing the Tanzania game, it’s obvious that Osimhen is not getting the required supplies from the wide men, the likes of Chukwueze who’s been guilty of many touches on the ball, at the same time the full backs have remained stuck to their defensive duties, depriving the talisman the required ball supplies, and which has been quite frustrating for him.
In my view, it’ll be necessary to revert to a 4-3-3 formation reinforce the team in the middle with a box-to-box midfielder in the mould of Ebenezer Akinisanmiro or Frank Onyeka and allow Ndidi Onyinye to sit in front of the defence and perhaps substitute in Raphael Onyedika to relief him in the circumstances that’s warranted.
I’m equally of the opinion that players should be deployed in their best positions on the field where they’re most effective. Players like Alex Iwobi as seen with Fulham brings his creativity at play from the wing and it’ll be best to deploy him in that role where’s more comfortable to give best, in terms of quality passes, make assist for goals.
Iwobi is a utility player.At Fulham he plays both as a winger and a midfielder.At Everton,he was used in the midfield I don’t know why people keep saying he plays only as a winger for his club side.
I think you should cut the team some slack because they had a dominant first half display.Iwobi and Ndidi had great shifts..Though in the second half the Taifa stars put up a performance but we were better.
Our team will get better as the tournament progresses remember this a tournament every team are here to compete.So big teams may not get many easy games.
Sadly,we can be too hard on our teams.We should make the right criticism and also acknowledge their efforts we’re not as bad as most people are making us feel..
Well, I won’t rate this team yet until after the the next two games of the group stage.
I stand by my position that Iwobi should be played in his preferred position as we’ve seen him in couple of games in the middle and I daresay that he, Iwobi goes missing in key games in the middle of the pack and would be best deployed on the wing where he feels more comfortable with minimal pressure. He can as well bring his creativity to bear playing on the wing for Nigeria as he does with Fulham in the EPL.
Going by the disappointment of the team during the world cup qualifier, especially in the playoffs against both Gabon and DR Congo, I choose to remain cautious about this team. I feel many of our players are yet to cover themselves in glory yet by the quality of their displays.
We need them to remain open to continuous learning and maintain consistent performances. It’s not too much to demand high standards from the Super Eagles players, especially for football fans who have seen quality displays from the team back in the years.
The Terenga Lions of Senegal handed their opponent 3 nil with a convincing performance last night before the Super Eagles game, sending strong warnings of their intentions at this AFCON tournament.
Our darling Super Eagles, the sleeping giants must wake up show their true quality.
THIS IS A SUPER FLUKE WINNING. THEIR PERFORMANCE IS NOTHING TO WRITE HOME ABOUT.
ERIC CHELLE SHOULD NOT BE DECIEVED/CARRIED AWAY WITH PAUL ONUACHU CLUB SIDE GOAL SCORING FORM. HE IS EUROPEAN CLUB GOALSCORING DECIEVER.
HE IS SUPER FLOP WHEN IT COME TO AFRICAN FOOTBALL. HIS PATTERN OF PLAY DOESN’T SUIT SUPER EAGLE TEAM.
ERIC CHELLE SHOULD ALLOW EITHER DESSERS OR AKOR-ADAMS TO BE PAIRING WITH OSIHMEN UPFRONT AND FIND BETTER RIGHT & LEFT WINGER AT THE FLANK..
Thumbs down sister woman Juliet. Onuachu is great.
I disagree with you.
Impressive game.
I love the intensity. The direct approach.
Nwabali: 6.5/10
He was not too tested. Though, he looked shaky when he was. I don’t think he was to blame for the conceded goal. Average.
Osayi: 7/10
He was threatening whenever he goes forward and he tracked back well when necessary.
Ajayi: 7.5/10
He did really well. The goal also helped his overall performance. Composed in defense and partnered well with Bassey.
Bassey: 7.5/10
“The Gorilla.” And he kept to his reputation. Very physical and his distribution was very good. He also covered Sanusi laps quite well.
Sanusi:6/10
Tarnished his performance with poor defensive duties. I blame him for the goal we conceded. His crosses were also poor. Average performance, especially because of poor tracking back.
Ndidi: 6.5/10
He was a little bit above average. Though, he covered the spacees when Tanzania countered and slowed down their attack. Not a bad outing.
Iwobi: 8.5/10
Man of the match. With two assists, he controlled the game. I’m very impressed with the way he dictated the tempo with quick passes. He also gave good direct and forward passes.
Chukwueze: 7/10
Energy. Trickery. Forward runs. He would had capped a brilliant performance had he scored in the last minutes of first half.
Lookman: 7.5/10
What a goal! He was alive and hungry. He drifted to th centre instead of staying out wide for most part of the game. He receives the ball in the middle of the pack, turn, and release Osimhen with a through ball.
Adams: 7/10
This, for me, is his best performance in a Super Eagles shirt. He did everything well as the support striker. Dribbles in tight spaces, through balls, hold up play, and created chances. Very impressive.
Osimhen: 7.5/10
The king. Unfortunately, he couldn’t score today. He came very close twice: an offside goal and a goal-line clearance by a Tanzanian defender. Frustrating but top performance. He kept their defence on the back foot
Great player ratings. Brief, sweet, on point. Thanks:)
Thumbs up Tarara.
Give Onuachu the support he needs, and he will score.
If we can’t supply him adequately, then there’s no point having him in the squad.
Onuachu is not the type of striker that you give passes to chase. You put the ball at his feet, or cross it for him to attack with his head. When he gets service like that, he will score goals.