Completesports.com’s ADEBOYE AMOSU appraises the performance of Flying Eagles, player-by-player, in
their 2-0 win against the Gil Azzurrini of Italy- a 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup Group D game at the Estadio Malvinas Argentinas, Mendoza
CHIJIOKE ANIAGBOSO 7/10
Fumbled a simple shot early on but recovered to make a vital save late in the first half. The goalkeeper set up Jude Sunday for the second goal.
DANIEL BAMEYI 7/10
Performed his task dutifully and supported the attack as well.
BENJAMIN FREDERICK 7/10
The centre-back was solid as ever. He put up a good performance in the game.
ABEL OGWUCHE 7/10
Proved a good partner again for the ever reliable Benjamin Frederick. Made a couple of vital blocks and clearance on the night.
SOLOMON AGBALAKA 6/10
Not really at his best especially in the first half. The left-back can do better in subsequent games.
DANIEL DAGA 8/10
The midfileder clearly showed his class once again. He was close to scoring from a header in the first half.
VICTOR ELETU 8/10
Formed a good understanding with Daniel Daga in the middle of the park. The AC Milan youngster was replaced by John Joshua in the second half after sustaining an injury.
SAMSON LAWAL 5/10
Samson Lawal didn’t do much in the game. He was replaced by Tochukwu Nnadi after the break.
IBRAHIM MUHAMMED 5/10
He is yet to light up this competition. The versatile forward was replaced by Emmanuel Umeh after the break.
SALIM FAGO 6/10
The forward was largely anonymous until his superb header on 61 minutes.
SUBSTITUTES
TOCHUKWU NNADI 6/10
Took the place of Samson Lawal in the second half. He provided a superb cross for Salim Fago’s opening strike.
UMEH EMMANUEL 4/10
Didn’t do much following his introduction.
HALIRU SARKI 5/10
Troubled the Italian defence with his pace and trickery after replacing Salim Fago.
JOHN JOSHUA 4/10
Took the place of the injured Victor Eletu and helped keep things tight in the middle.
17 Comments
No rating for Jude Sunday? Had a great game today. Needs a bit of polish, and needs to play more for the team. But that’s a star in the making, potentially.
Eletu and Daga could really help with our SE midfield issues. Nnadi has also impressed. Akinsanmiro although absent from the tournament, is also a good option. Though young, these guys look like the real deal.
Nice one from center backs Ogwuche and Frederick. Good overall performance from the squad, and kudos to the coaching crew.
Wat if they had played the normal game the result would have been different. Attack attack attack and eventually lost …thank God the coach woke up .if u considered how Nigerian teams have been losing matches they shud have won easily. Senegal Morocco car Madagascar Ghana guinea Bissau Tunisia all thought Nigerian team a lesson…
Now the problem led to loss of confidence to all Nigerian football teams . even those participatin in CAF clubs competition we’re all dumped out at one stage or the other just because of little lessons not learnt.all those are gone now and hopefully there wil be a new beginning after Senegal don care all the cups in Africa.
The flying eagles are learning the tricks now but their is a problem.the technical department I m sure did not notice it .
See how the Italian takes the ball pass our attacker just as if they bisect them or byepass them with the ball after the Nigerian team lunches an attack. Imagine 3 people in front in opponent half .authourmatically the middle is gone and the defenders are at the mercy of the Italian..they get weak at the middle that is it.
Solution to have a compart midfield is to make ur attackers the 1st line of defense. So the the middle men can express themselves..I think we saw that In the second half and the Italian were reduced to zero in their attacking poweress.
Hopefully by Friday I wil be rememberingthe team how to beat Brazil.
Brazil Shud not be allowed to get 4 points .or else they wil go ahead to deny u the cup .it better to beat dem now .not a draw.
Blah, blah, blah….abegi what are you blathering on about?
You play different tactics against different teams, and that’s what the coaches did. Meanwhile, EVERY team loses games but Nigerians often act as if Nigerian teams have a divine right to win ALL games.
By the way, Jude Sunday’s goal celebration is a carbon copy of how Kanu celebrated his equalizing goal against Brazil at the 1996 Olympics. A blast from the past.
Kudos to the boys, however, for some weird reasons I’m yet to be convinced of the quality of their displays so far in this tournament compared with what I saw with the under-17 boys who failed to make the world cup due to tactical ineptitude of the coach.
I wish the boys best, though.
It would have been very satisfying to have Ebenenezer Akinsanmiro in this squad but still all good… The Akinsanmiro dude has game so tight, one will think he came through in a top club academy like those in La Masia, Dortmund, Ajax or Bayern. The guy is the future of Nigeria’s football. The day he is called to Super Eagles, our midfield question will come to can end.
The guy Akinsanmiro is far better than Wilfred Ndidi considering ball-to-ball skill. I know a lot of people will want to eat me up for saying that. Michael Eletu is good dually but his game is still maturing and compared to Akinsanmiro… Eletu can be said to still be breastfeeding. However, Eletu is in a good place to properly develop.
Speaking in same vein… Light Eke, Ebube Okere, Jubril Azeez, Abdullahi Umar, Lawali, Emmanuel, Iyede Kevwe, Ahieri, Charles Agada, the other central defender who paired the faltering Ogboji, Richard Odoh(goalkeeper), Linus, Oyebanjo, Opeyemi should all be promoted to the next U-20 team.
Those U-17 boys were super talented except for a few mistakes they made in defecence, mind you the U-17 ouster can be attributed to just that guy Tochukwu Ogboji who was responsible for three goals conceded by the Eaglets… also except the guy Tochukwu Ogbabido improves his quickness on the ball, awareness and agility as a midfielder… to be evidently seen, he should stay far from the next U-20 team.
Of the guys in our current U-17 squad, to me as an ex-footballer, Light Eke is a highly intelligent and skillful forward… I will pray for that young man to end in a place like Dortmund or Barcelona. He is a player in the mold of Samuel Eto’o for his football quickness, sharpness, awareness and intelligence.
I hold that boy in high regard and I saw in him what most other fans may have overlooked with his outing in the recent U-17 AFCON. I will pray NFF keep 90% of that team and start with them as the cornerstone of the next U-20… the planning starts now. The future Super Eagles is in good hands…
Until I watch that Akinsanmiro, I won’t rate him higher than Ndidi that I’ve been watching for years. Akinsanmiro is largely untested. The highest competition he’s tasted now is Italian youth league. Ndidi has seen it all and excelled up to WC level. Let’s thread carefully and not put unnecessary pressure on this young ones. Remember Ndido also played in this competition and fiddo well in 2013 editio.
Talent is talent my dear friend weather you have played world cup in Mars or not if you have talent everyone will see it…… Akinsanmiro has some qualities that Ndidi does not have as a Midfielder no matter the experience Ndidi has over him….. Akinsanmiro has wonderful footwork and can move forward with the ball well in the final third…… Akinsanmiro is an attacking kind of Midfielder who can play behind the strikers but Ndidi is a static kind of defensive Midfielder who only breaks up the opponents attacks……Inter Milan have already promoted him to their first team and he was in the squad that lost to Napoli last weekend……I saw him speaking with Osimhen after the match and I knew gradually Akinsanmiro is robbing shoulders with the elites.
Absolutely right.. the guy akin is technically gifted nd skillful.. his ball control nd passes and shades are far better than Ndidi at His age… The truth shud be told he is better than Ndidi… Ndidi himself never ready to improve on his games.. I just pity him going down to championship.. He doesn’t improve on his games..
Talent is talent, I agree. But let his talent be tested like Ndidi’s talent has been tested. Then we can talk. Some youth league isn’t enough to rate a player above another player who has tasted all sorts of actions across Europe, at the AFCON, WYC and the the WC.
Again, I don’t understand the basis for this comparison. Remo Stars lists this guy as an attacking midfielder. I don’t know the position he plays at his club. Ndidi is largely a defender/defensive midfielder. So why this juxtaposition? Maybe you should put him beside Iwobi and place Ndidi and Eletu side-by-side, not the other way round.
@JimmyBall
“Apples and oranges”: Akinsanmiro is an Attacking Midfielder whilst Ndidi is a Defensive Midfielder.
Lets hope two or three of the U20 level players make it to the top as professional footballers in good clubs. We would be lucky to see two or three end up as Super Eagles regulars in three to five years time. Even our best U20 squads over the years have not seen more than this number progress
I have watched Ebenzers highlights and as a former BLA player or Remo no doubt he is good but he still has a lot to add to his game before we can dream. For now Daga is miles ahead of him and the only player that can add something creative to eagles that we have been missing.
Thank you Samuel. You clearly understand the game.
I have watched entire games played by Ebenezer with Inter U19 (they can be found on YouTube), and anyone that rates him over Ndidi (or even Daga) at this point in time still has a lot to learn about football. Nonetheless, we should all be happy for his potential and hope that his day with the SE will come sooner than later.
Great article @JimmyBall!
I would include Michael Ogwor among the U17s that should be promoted to the next U20 team. Kid is tough as nails. I have no doubt that if he and the pair of Ebube Okere and Raphael Oyebanjo were on the team that played in Algeria, we would have qualified for The U17 World Cup.
These young players should be kept together and nurtured.
@JimmyBall, Akinsanmiro came through a top academy – the Beyond Limits Academy in Ikenne!
Meanwhile, how can you call yourself an ex-footballer (although I guess we all are ‘ex-footballers’ one way or another…lol!) and attribute 3 of the goals conceded by the U17 Eaglets to one player. The reality is that apart from the PK the other goals was the result of failure of the ENTIRE defensive unit. Specifically, Ogboji should NEVER have been in the situation he found himself if several the other defenders (Olaleke, Michaels, and even the holding/shielding midfielders) did their jobs and/or were not slipping all over the field.
You nailed it!!!
Complete Sports, abegi it was Emmanuel Umeh who provided the cross for Salim Hago to score the curtain raiser, not Tochukwu Nnadi.