Despite a late 1-0 win against South Sudan in the ongoing African Games, the Flying Eagles of Nigeria failed to convince many of their abilities in their campaign.
The match, which took place on Monday night at the Accra Sports Stadium, saw Charles Agada squander two goal-scoring opportunities late in the game.
Although Sadiq Isiyaka’s penalty secured the victory for Nigeria, there are concerns about their midfield and attack’s inability to connect with passes.
The result against South Sudan means the Flying Eagles moved to second position in the Group B standings.
Ladan Bosso’s men are behind the Hippos of Uganda, who have six points from two games after beating Senegal 1-0 in the other group game clash.
Nigeria will face Senegal on Friday, with only a draw required to ensure qualification for the semifinals.
However, post-game reports suggest concerns about the team’s ability to progress through the group stage, especially given a lack of confidence in their front line.
Speaking with DAILY POST after the game, Saheed Afolabi, who works at Clear TV, said he was not convinced with the Flying Eagles’ performance against South Sudan.
He wondered how Nigeria could find it very difficult to score against a team like South Sudan.
According to Afolabi, the team cannot stream passes, adding that there was no connectivity between the midfield and the attack.
“I think Nigeria has not been convincing enough and Ladan Bosso still has a lot of work to do in terms of the squad not scoring enough goals.
“Nigeria cannot play South Sudan and find it very difficult to even play South Sudan 1-0. Just look at the squad, they had to struggle hard with a late penalty for them to beat South Sudan by a lone goal.
“I believe either the team has not gotten its rhythm or the players that were brought to the competition are not good players that could make Nigeria shine at this All African Games,” Afolabi said.
“You can see the women’s team, the Falconets, won their first game 2-0 and their second game 4-0. The coaches of Falconets have done their own job, so it is left for Ladan Bosso and his technical crew to up their game and make sure that they actually lived up to expectations and turn up big time because this is not actually convincing enough.
“So for him to remain on his job, I believe he has to do what he knows how to do best and make sure Nigeria shines.”
He added, “Like I said, the performance from the boys is not convincing, I must be frank, I watched the game, I wasn’t convinced. The team cannot stream passes, no connectivity between the midfield and the attack.
“Losing the first game to Ugandan by 2-1, Uganda had the most possession in that game and came against South Sudan and still found it very, very hard to defeat South Sudan.
“I think the technical crew has a lot of work to do as they progress in the All African Games. So I believe the All African Games might be an eye opener for the team as they prepare for the WAFU in May, but I think the team do not have any excuse not to win Gold in the Men’s football event.”
Also speaking with DAILY POST, Charles Ogundiya of New Telegraph, described the Flying Eagles’ performance against South Sudan as ‘terrible.’
He also expressed doubt the Nigeria team would move forward after the group stage.
“Definitely, as a matter of fact, this is a very terrible performance by Nigeria. For them to find it very difficult to score against South Sudan, then, I do not know what the team would be able to do when they play Senegal in their next game,” Ogundiya said.
“It is going to be a very tough one. Nigeria is on three points, Senegal is also on three points now. The only way Senegal would want to go is to just get the victory and progress to the next round, which would likely affect Nigeria if they continue to play like this.”
He added, “The Nigeria team is not even good in front of goal, getting the goals is difficult for Ladan Bosso’s men.
“Let’s see what is going to happen in the next match, but seriously, I am not counting on this team to move forward from this level after the group stage.”
African Games: Flying Eagles low confidence in goal puts semi-final push under threat
