The Super Eagles moved to the top of group e after they managed to beat Libya side thanks to a brace from Odion Ighalo and one from Ahmed Musa in their African Cup of Nations qualifier in Tunis on Tuesday night.
The Nigerian team who lost their first match against South Africa has now won their last three matches to overtake South Africa who drew away to Seychelles in the group’s earlier match.
Odion Ighalo continued from where he left off on Saturday as he opened the scoring for the Eagles following a brilliant work from Iwobi who set up Musa to lay off the ball to Ighalo to score from close range.
Super Eagles added the second from Musa who beat off a couple of challenges from the Libyan defenders to scramble home from close range. The super eagles suffered a scare in the second half as the Libyans hit back twice to level before a brilliant finish from Ighalo secured the three points.
Nevertheless, there are still some questions from the Super Eagles as they almost blew a two-goal lead which is why we will be taking a look at the Five things we learned from the match.
1. The Defence still a suspect at set piece:
Over the years Super Eagles have been susceptible to long balls and set pieces. It was exposed in the build-up to the world cup and also at the world cup. The Eagles conceded set pieces goals against England and Czech in the friendlies before the world cup. They also failed to deal with set pieces in the game against Croatia which eventually cost the team a place in the second round. One we will assume the Nigerian Team would’ve learned their lessons after the world cup but the problems still exist as the defence failed to deal with Libya’s long ball for the first goal. The defence struggled all through the match and it is something Gernot Rohr will need to fix as soon as possible.
2. Iwobi continues to Impress:
Alex Iwobi has enjoyed a fine start to the season at Arsenal and he looks to have carried on his form to the super eagles. He was in the thick of the action for the first leg as it was his brilliant pass that set up Ighalo’s second goal. He continued from there on Tuesday night as it was his brilliant execution that led to the first goal. It looks like the super eagles finally have the Creative Midfielder they have been craving for in a long time.
3. Ighalo silence his Critics:
To be honest Ighalo has everything to prove that he still belongs to the super eagles especially after his horror show at the world cup. However, he took that criticism on the chin by letting his actions speak for himself. He was on target in the game against Seychelles. He showed his importance to the team by scoring a well-taken hattrick in the first leg against Libya. In the second leg he continued in the same vein scoring the first goal of the game. However, it was the striker’s match-winner that caught the eye of fans. His latest performance will justify Rohr’s faith in him and will silence his critics at least for now.
4. Mikel still needed in the team:
The super eagles went two goals ahead in the first half and you’ll expect the team to be able to see it out. However, the midfield couldn’t do the basic which allowed Libya back to the game. Today’s performance showed why Mikel is still Vital to the team as none of the Midfielders are confident on the ball. The Super Eagles may have eventually won but the performance from the Midfielders showed why Mikel is still Vital to the team.
5. No show for Iheanacho again:
The Leicester man would have hoped he to get game time especially now that he is getting game time at his club. However, he was left on the bench for the whole 180 minutes. It is time Ihenacho needs to adapt his game to Rohr’s formation because right now it will be difficult to see him get starting shirt in Rohr’s plans.
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