Nigeria internationals Samuel Chukwueze, Calvin Bassey and Alex Iwobi all got very good ratings in Fulham’s 1-0 win against Sunderland, at Craven Cottage on Saturday.
After failing to help Nigeria qualify for next year’s intercontinental playoffs in Mexico, the trio were back in action for Fulham and were instrumental in the hard-fought win.
While Bassey saw action for 90 minutes and Iwobi taken off on 89 minutes, Chukwueze came on in the 64th minute.
Fulham dominated proceedings in search of their fourth win of the season, but as the game wore on, it seemed like they would rue a host of missed opportunities.
But Chukwueze’s perfectly-weighted cross and a deft Raul Jimenez finish on 84 minutes secured the win.
Also Read: Fulham Boss Hails Chukwueze’s Display In Win Over Sunderland
It was Chukwueze’s second assist in five Premier League appearances for the London club.
Following their impressive displays Chukwueze, Bassey and Iwobi were each given seven out of 10 by Sky Sports.
The trio would hope to put the disappointment of not making it to the Intercontinental playoffs by helping the Super Eagles land a fourth AFCON title in Morocco.
Iwobi is the only player among the three that has featured at the FIFA senior men’s World Cup.
The former Arsenal and Everton forward was part of the squad that failed to go past the group stage at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Other members of the 2018 squad, under Gernot Rohr, include captain William Troost-Ekong, Wilfred Ndidi and Chidozie Awaziem.
By James Agberebi
1 Comment
We need to move past these average players who have remained inconsistent over the years with the Super Eagles especially in crunch games.
Samuel Chukwueze and Alex Iwobi have proven they’re just a flash in the pain , they go missing in key games. The same set of players who could not hold their own during playoffs against Gabon and DR Congo, what’re talking about, and they are the same set we’re projecting for the next AFCON in December. Let’s look beyond the upcoming AFCON in Morocco let’s start planning for the future with new breed of players and a few bunch of old and consistent players.
The likes of Alex Iwobi, Samuel Chukwueze along with Ndidi Onyinye and Troost Ekong, including Simon Moses could not qualify the team for the world cup back-to-back in ten years yet they’re the same players we’re projecting for the December AFCON, it’s the height of poor planning for the future.
With AFCON in December, I think we should project a number of new entrants joining the team like Pisa’s midfielder Ebenezer Akinisanmiro, Slava Prague box-to-box midfielder David Moses, Crystal Palace big man Chrisantus Uche and Dele Bashiru, with Raphael Onyedika and Frank Onyeka. These are the men who should form the bulk of the midfield.
Nantes of France defender Awaziem and Calvin Bassey and Benjamin Frederick should form the base of the Super Eagles defence with the experience of Ola Aina and Porto based Zaidu.
With Osimhen spearheading the attack, the likes of Paul Onuachu and Akor Adams expectedly should form the attack with African footballer of the year, Ademola Lookman supporting on the wing. Gift Orban is one other player who should sort his clearance from Togo for his eligibility.
With these a few notable changes and addition we should have a new look Super Eagles for the next AFCON in December and ultimately for the future.