Super Eagles interim head coach Augustine Eguavoen blamed his side’s poor marksmanship for their 0-0 draw against the Black Stars of Ghana on Friday, reports Completesports.com.
Ghana dominated possession in the 2022 FIFA World Cup playoffs first leg tie at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium, Kumasi.
The Super Eagles should however have beaten the hosts had they taken most of the chances they created.
Read Also: 2022 WCQ: ‘Why Black Stars Failed To Beat Nigeria In Kumasi’ —Ghana Coach, Addo
Rangers midfielder Joe Aribo came close to breaking the deadlock four minutes before the break, while winger Moses Simon wasted the game’s best chance in the 55th minute.
“We had two clear chances to just finish Ghana, but I think getting a draw is good even though we wanted to win here (in Ghana),” Eguavoen told reporters after the game.
The two teams will clash in the second leg at the Moshood Abiola Stadium, Abuja on Tuesday.
By Adeboye Amosu
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COMMENTS
Eguaveon,I’m starting to lose faith in you,you must get it right tactically against Ghana come Tuesday,no more excuses.You have the right players and the NFF have given you the right atmosphere for you to thrive.Get it right tactically.If we fail to score first half in Abuja,it can be a really tensed atmosphere.
Address Ghana’s strength which is the midfield,try to put more bodies there to combat them
Address Ghana’s central defenders,they looked comfortable dealing with Osimhen,Ghana put Amartey and Djiku on him.Place another striker upfront to support Osimhen, Someone with a big frame to take pressure off Osimhen and free him off defenders
What the Ghanaians did was they doubled up on our forward players anytime we had the ball.
Ekong looked suspect.
I think we need to play with 3 at the back
Play Ekong Balogun and Semi Ajayi
Double pivot of Etebo and Onyeka in midfield, Iheanacho or Aribo should play more advanced,this should reduce Ghana’s midfield dominance
Simon as left wing back and Ola aina as right wing back
Osimhen to lead the line and should be partnered by either Sadiq because of his frame or Ighalo.
Chukwueze should sit it out entirely.
If the Ghanaians get the goal first we are in trouble because we aren’t much of a team that responds when a goal down
A 3-5-2 should be more safe at this point
Uzoho
Semi Ajayi, Ekong, Balogun
Ola aina Etebo Onyeka Simon Moses
Aribo/Iheanacho
Osimhen,Sadiq/Ighalo
You’re right. It was a crude tactic by the Ghana coach. They swarm any Nigerian with the ball, getting very physical, choking the space and not allowing us to play. They knew if they opened up, it would be disastrous for them as Nigeria were more technical and matured in their play with more experienced players. But Ghana has no choice than to come to play on Tuesday and we’ll hit them hard.
But seriously, Eguavoean/Amuneke needs to drum it into Chukwuweze’s head to always release ball. He seems to love personal glory a lot. He could have squared one-time pass to Osimhen after a dribble or two, but no he wanted to try a third nutmeg and failed 80% of the time cos he hardly uses his right leg.
You don’t really know football, the only team that didn’t open up on Friday was Eguaveon. He started the game in a 4231 which to me was a sign of respect to Ghana because honestly had u guys opened up just a bit you could’ve been in trouble . Now back in Nigeria you have no choice but to open up , should be interesting on Tuesday
U have an archaic mindset wrt football! Eguaveon considering the so called talent at his disposal player a CREUEL,obnoxious football by placing 10 MEN behind the ball in ghana!!
He achieved his objective understandably in ghana but in Abuja he has to OPEN UP and we ll see the real super eagles in Nigeria
Nigeria ll fold up if they oepn up and I believe ghana ll have a goal air two in Nigeria
And why is your coach sweating from his forehead throughout the match? He better come with 24 towel to abuja lolll. Nice match though and Ghana have really improve from the last AFCON. Whatever happen GFA should retain addo.
This is actually Rohr’s formation and I kind of agree with you, but people were blaming Rohr when he used Moses Simon as a wing back, is just to get the job done, but they won’t understand till something wrong happens. Your analysis not bad at all.
Pls check, Nigeria has 5 midfielders in camp so 352 formation is not possible, now ghana has superior midfielder and that’s where the game will be decided, if the black Stars get a goal in Abuja it’s over
In 3-5-2 formation the fullbacks are considered as midfielders
I would’ve like to thumb u up and down at d same time cos I agree n disagree on ur tots..first our bane in afcon was playing just two central midfielders s against 3,when ndidi overlap in afcon it created a big hole allowing d Tunisian to shoot with all d time…it happened again yesterday with just two central midfielders..we should be playing 4-3-3 with aribo-etebo-iwobi/bonke,kelechi I have always repeat should be a supersub and never be a starter in eagles cos he is never a striker/midfielder…he is a shot-one on d field of play…our formation should be aina-ekong-balogun-zaidu
Etebo/iwobi-bonke-aribo
Simon-victor-lookman/any winger
That’s our best for now n should do d job..
For a long time I have always advocated a 3-5-2 formation for the Super Eagles.
The 3 centre backs have the extra man, wing backs provide width, 2 deep playing midfielders and one attacking midfielder in a perfect diamond like shape and 2 strikers. This will not be that pretty to the eye but will cause teams problems.
Your analysis is bang on the money.
Good formation.Though I didn’t see the game but from comments I had an idea how it went.
Like I said prior to the game and now I’m vindicated,Bonke is not a ball playing midfielder,and against a team like Ghana playing a Bonke in a 4-2-4 formation because I do not consider Iheanacho a midfielder,is a tactical blunder.
For this reason our four attackers where redundant, because you need a functional midfield for a team to function.So apparently,we had just Aribo against Ghana’s Kudus,Iddrisu,Partey and Issyaku wow who does that?Only Cerezo!
Thank God we came back unscathed.
I was expecting Etebo and Abdullahi Shehu to play centrally and Aribo playing further up,of course Osimhen playing in the centre forward sandwiched by two wingers Simon and Lookman to be precise.Had we played this way,Ghana would have surely outplayed in the midfield and our attack would have functioned for us to have a better chance of winning in Kumasi.
In my analysis before the game I also pointed out areas Ghana was stronger like the central defence,midfield because we were light in the absence of Ndidi and Iwobi but we didn’t manage the situation by choosing the wrong players in the midfield.Those that objected my point should see now I was right.
The game is still there for the taking.Its not yet Uhuru for the super eagles.I would have preferred a score draw to a goaless one because the away goal rules is very much in practice.
Because of this our players will be under severe pressure knowing a goal by the Ghanaians may end our world cup dreams especially should they score first because what I noticed about the super eagles is we struggle to get equaliser against top teams and for this very reason,we have exited many competition.
Our inabilities to cancel out one goal has being an age-old problem,it’s a shame.
Meanwhile,contrary to popular belief,a goaless draw away against a footballing nation is not necessarily an advantage people should be informed,a good side play anywhere as home so Ghana is very much in it like the super eagles.
If eguavoen doesn’t make up to five changes in the starting eleven,I will know that he is not a coach.moses,chukwueze, iheanacho ,bonke sanusi should be dropped.if we must win that game .
@topshotta, you are right on point. This tactics and personnel would better the performance of last night by the boys.
I concur to your formation Top Shotta.
Perfect line up, I have personally been looking for that.
Semi Ajayi is a top player, with sharp movement.
Gwin
Cerezo, this is the time for you to rise up and be counted among successful SE coaches.
Before this game, I pointed to you players that you should never rely on in crucial matches but you went ahead and waisted those slots.
I like the fact that you exhibited bravery by ringing changes swiftly however replacing Aribo and Zaidu was really a wrong call.
Aribo gave Partey the game of his life and was the only player attacking the Ghanian spaces with ease. Iheanacho and Chukwueze have continously disappointed in recent matches and crucial matches, yet they are always starting matches.
Bassey is not really bad but his recovery rate is a huge suspect. Zaidu is more matured and assured on that left back. His forays into the Ghanian box opened up space in the first half.
Must Ekong start all SE matches ?This guy is just overworking Balo with his errors, mistiming, lack of awareness and wrong positioning. Uzoho had to be shouting at him on several occassions.
Semi is a better defender and more assured ball playing, goal scoring defender.
Uzoho
Aina Semi Balo Zaidu
Etebo Onyeka
Aribo
Dennis Osimhen Moses
Thank you sir, I thought I was the only one that sees Aribo and Zaidu substitution as a wrong call. Aribo was the player that gave Partey game of his life infact the impact of Partey was not felt in the match. Zaidu was good on left flank his runs was quite decent and calm,that beautiful cross to Osimhen.Bassey however has a decent performance on his debut but his integration to the team should be a rush. I hope he won’t repeat such an error in Abuja. It will be disastrous if he does.
Missed chances were on both sides and should not be used as a manager’s excuse. What Eguavoen should be worried about is why the Nigerian wing play was snuffed out throughout tge game by the Ghanaians. It appears our coaching crew had no Plan B.
Your midfield is very weak. If u see an opponent doubling up on you, you don’t try to dribble but use your movements and release the ball quicker. Nigerians should understand that modern day football is all about adaptation. You cannot be one dimensional and always depend on wing play. Your coach should be able to change things when you realise after 15min that your opponents have found you out. Otto Addo is a methodical German born and trained Ghanaian and no doubt the solid backroom staff of boateng,Hughton,didi dramani where tactically on top against the Nigerian technical team. Let’s see the tactics otto addo deploys in the next game. He will need a tactical masterpiece to get the results in Abuja and I trust him to do so. Go Ghana!
Thumps up @opare, this is a very mature and objective comments. No insult and no abuses. I hope other Ghanians can emulate this and stop all these nonsense rivalry.
I want Nigeria to Qualify but if Ghana does at the expense of Nigeria, I will support them fully from the depth of my to make Africa proud at the global showpiece.
One love man
Am shocked that a home team escaped with a draw and you are praising the coach as being tactically on top A team that could barely create a chance except 2 snap shots.i don’t blame you had Super Eagles taken their chances you won’t be deceiving yourself.
Didn’t we informed u that ur coach is one dimensional coach?
Now u dig right
Besides Ghanaian players are more technically gifted than Nigeria and we ll still DOMINATE POSSESSION in Nigeria more than we did in Kumasi because our team is full of midfielders!!
Nigeria is going to be under enormous pressure in Nigeria because considering the technical abilities of Ghanaians as compared to the Nigerians who have reverted back to KICK AND RUN football including their midfielders, should they open up to mount pressure on Ghana in Abuja, Ghana ll exploit and their spaces and carve them up brutally
Comparatively, the Ghanaian players are more comfortable on the ball and ekong said in the press conference that the pitch wasn’t good that’s why they cldnt hold the ball well but he ll have no excuses when we play in his so called better pitch in Abuja
If Ghanaians were able to hold the ball comfortably well on a POOR KUMASI PITCH, am just wondering what they ll do on a better abuja pitch!!
Excuses, excuses and excuses!!
This tie is far from over and judging by what I saw ystday, Ghana has a goal or two in Abuja in a more better pitch!!
Super Eagles had the better chances to score, that’s a fact!
They had two clear chances to wrapped the game up which is a fact but they cldnt which shows that they can’t perform under pressure and the pressure will be on them in Abuja!!
They ll crack up under abuja pressure!!
Ghana has a goal in Abuja
Why was Akinwunmi Amaoo wasn’t in the line up? Nigeria lack a creative midfielder in that match, Aribo didn’t play best of his match and Osimeh wasn’t seeing passes
Guys let’s face it, truth is that Eguavoen is a clueless coach with limited tactical intelligence.
Did any of you guys noticed in the 1st 10 mins that Simon was playing from the right wing while Chukwueze played on the left wing? They only switch over after 20 mins to their respective familiar wings. Tell me why a good coach will use such a high profile match with 1 day of full training to try such experiment?
Why will he start a Bonke that is completely new ahead of Onyeka in the first place? We all saw how Ifeanyi Michael was the saving grace in the midfield against Cape Verde away.
Aribo should’ve never been substituted at that time, rather Iheanacho who was a passanger should have gave way. Iheanacho is definitely not a midfielder and should never be used as such ever again
Bonke should’ve been the one substituted for Onyeka at the time but he kept him until the guy got injured and the SE took control of the midfield thereafter.
Ighalo should definitely play a part on Tuesday if we are to win that match comfortably, he will give the defenders a tough time with his hold up play thereby freeing Osimhen to do the damage.
Dennis needs to start ahead of Chukwueze as to me that poor boy has failed to impress in SE color in recent times.
Zaidu is good enough to start ahead of Bassey bcos he gives better stability at the back better than Bassey, experience in Big games trumps here
I wish SE good luck on Tuesday but when we qualify for Qatar,we surely need a World class foreign coach with modest accomplishments
Cerezo got his formation and tactics wrong.
Ghana has only one weapon, midfield, so I was expecting Cerezo to put a man on partey.
Etebo would have done that.
In a physical game that has a lot at stake, Osimhen should not be alone.
Anyway, my winning formation is
Uzoho,
Aina, Ajayi/Eking,Balogun,Zaidu
A three man midfield, where one will play as a CM (Etebo) and the other 2 will play the Valverde role, covering and following the ball everywhere it goes, switching and interchanging sides, making sure Ghana is not comfortable in transition. They will just break play from both sides, Onyenka and Bonke would have done that.
Then a one man free ranging Attacking midfielder will be in front of the Midfield, he will Carry the ball forward and make forward passes. Aribo/lookman will surely excel in that role.
Then a two man strike team will terrorize the Ghanaian CBs and we have Osimhen, Dennis, Simon, Ighalo, Kelechi, Sadiq…..any pair will do
Guys i no see wetin Ghana play when dey make una dey say dia midfield was better than ours ooo. All they did was get the ball and just lob it for afeni gyan or idrissu baba or jordan ayew to run at. The Ghanaians didn’t play anything ooo. Please u guys should go watch the match again. How many times did u guys hear partey’s name mentioned or kudus’ name? Eguavoen was very tactical and practical in his approach. Our wingers had the ball on several occasions but just didn’t take advantage of them. Simon and chukwueze had good positioning and lots of posession but just didnt utilize it well. How often did dennis oddoi or dia left back make forays forward compared to Aina or Sanusi or Bassey. Also people criticising Bonke should go watch dat match again, he was very impressive. He made life gell for Kudus, granted he is no busquet or frank de jong or rodri but he was very effective. The mopped up and blocked anything dat came his way. His passes were short and accurate. He did same work as idrissu baba of ghana. How many passes did ghana string together in the midfield? Not up to 3 passes b4 playing nonsense. It was the work that Bonke and Aribo did in dat midfield that made it easy for Etebo and Onyeka to easily come in and improve the team. Kudus and partey were already frustrated when Etebo and Onyeka came in. Ghana also just git d normal new coach bounce dat most teams get during dia 1st game with d team as every player wants to give dia best. Our boys played fantastically well and they deserve to be commended. Beating Ghana at home is no easy task for anything and 9ja was only a fraction away from doing dat. Both coaches adopted same formation and tactics, 4 at d back, 1 holding midfielder (idrissu baba and bonke, 1 central midfielder (partey and aribo) 1 attacking midfielder (kudus and iheanacho), 2 winger (ishiaku & ayew and simon & chukweze) 1 striker (gyan and osimen), so where is the tactical superiority of the german born ghana coach? I really didnt see it in dis match ooo exvept we arent talking of d same game from yesterday. To me 9ja was d better team tactically and technically. The Ghana team offered nothing going forward other than dat strike by ishiaku, they didnt do anything for 90+ mins. If Bonke is fit, i will play him again and ask him to do same job he did on kudus, i may also play etebo alongside him with Aribo ahead of dem in d AM role instead of iheanacho, but if bonke isnt fit Onyeka can be used. As much as 352 is a good formation, is it in a crucial WC qualifier dat u try such a formation knowing u haven’t implemented it b4? How long did it take GR to even contemplate using it even after 5yrs at the helm? Its very easy to criticise Eguavoen but in my view he has done very well considering he has only been at the helm for less than 5 months. He can only try the 352 in some friendly games which hasnt been aavailable to him due to AFCON and now WC qualifiers. So please cut d guy and team some slack, afrerall the team didnt lose.
God bless @ proudly 9nja.
Majority of comments on this forum oozes loads of mediocrity in football scheme of things,reason I prefer staying away more often nowadays. How people expect us to go to Ghana n just have an easy day beats me. Bonke was a constant nuisance to Ghana build up play yesterday hence they had to resort to throwing long balls n even got worn out going into the second half. I honestly didn’t see anything spectacular about the Ghanian though not taking anything away from them being a quality team. Nigeria was solid n confident despite the massive crowd n intimidating atmosphere. That x-factor tactical input could have seen us winning that match yesterday but I will not blame Eguavoen or the crew because it can happen to anyone. It happened terribly to Rohr and many others .One thing,I really like about Eguavoen is, he invites and give game time to the right players as well as letting us know players those self serving criminals are trying to force on the team.
Exactly my broda. Another big positive dat most people didnt appreciate was Eguavoen cap-tieing calvin bassey and Ademola Lookman, that was very apt by him. Now we have 2 excellent and versatile LBs that can easily deputise for each other without dropping our standard. That alone i give Eguavoen a pass mark. I dont understand people clamouring for a foreign coach very close to the Mundial, i dont get why we like sabotaging ourself, give these crew some time to mold the team the way they want to. Other than 2-3 players with questionable invitation (based on fans’ selection criteria lol, even tho personally i think those 2-3 players justified dia inclusion in d team) Eguavoen has invited mostly deserving players, so anyone saying he is taking kickbacks from some players is unfounded.
U didn’t watch the match!!
U charlatans
His team is very predictable he has no idea on how to play the players or should I say the right formation that works for the players we have
@glory, well said. I really enjoy the last part of your comment. We all know there are self-serving criminals on that technical bench smuggled by Picnic. The earlier we develop a real criteria for players invitation to the SE the better for the team.
Nigeria is blessed with at least 3 candidates in each position. Any player that fails to take his chances should make way for others.
It’s really interesting that some of the players that showed up at the ANC, were dropped for underperforming players.
I listened to Egu’s reason for inviting certain players and realize how difficult it is for the poor man to work independently. I won’t be surprised if the removal of Zaidu and Aribo came from his unintelligent assistant who is working without a contract. Eguavoen should take full responsibility in the second leg and never allow any of his greedy and corrupt assistants mislead him.
I would have loved a Nigerian coach to take us to the WC but it’s obvious they suffer interference from politicians, Tribalism, bribery and corruption. The ones that are technically gifted with great personality and strong self esteem will not be allowed by Picnic.
Well said Brodaman. Ghana were ordinary. Nigeria should wack them 2.0 in Abuja without batting an eyelid. Evil fans with evil intentions criticised Bonke but I and I know better. Bonke na war horse. Heaven bless Eguavoen and all deserving Super Eagles players.
U have no football brains
U charlatan shut the hell up
At the right time, I will tell coach Eguavoen what to do. The Super Eagles will qualify for the World. Meanwhile, the players and their technical crew should have some rest till Monday. God bless Nigerians.
Only a positive illusionist go fit spot the difference for Tunisia and Ghana games and wetin dey as clear as CNN be say, Eguavoen doesn’t have the chops for the job. Football don pass the unthinkingly enthusiastic approach.