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W’Cup Qualifiers: S’Eagles Kigali Battle And Task Before Team Against Zimbabwe

W’Cup Qualifiers: S’Eagles Kigali Battle And Task Before Team Against Zimbabwe

07:30 pm on March 23, 2025
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Faced with the prospect of missing two consecutive World Cup finals, the Su­per Eagles entered their match-day five game against the Wasps of Rwanda in Kigali with the thought that anything short of victory would adversely affect what was remaining of their slim opportunity to join the rest of the world in next years foremost foot­ball contest.

That in mind, the Super Ea­gles approached the match with the desire to win and this was captured by the team’s support­er, Ayo Bulus, while examining their performance on the team’s X Handle

“The only thing that changed in the team was their commit­ment,” he said.

“If they had played like this before, they probably won’t have found themselves where they are today,” Bulus noted while apprais­ing their performance against the hitherto Group C leaders, the Wasps.

True to his words, the Super Eagles entered the match with the right zeal and determination to pull the chestnuts out of the fire.

While the entire team have been praised for the heartwarm­ing win over the Rwandans, Vic­tor Osimhen showed why he is highly priced and why he is one of the most-sought-after forwards in Europe today as his brace against the Wasps helps keep Ni­geria’s qualification hope alive.

Missing the previous qualifi­ers and merely making his debut in the round robbing hostilities towards the World Cup billed for the United States, Mexico and Canada, it took the on-loan Nap­oli forward just eleven minutes to open the scoring after he latched onto a free kick from Ademola Lookman.

He was on hand again in three of the five minutes in first half added time, making the best of a header from Samuel Chukwueze by beating his marker to the ball before chipping the ball past the onrushing goalkeeper of Rwanda for the second and decisive goal.

While the performance of the Super Eagles has continued to draw rave reviews, the match, however, saw some areas of im­provements in the team’s overall performance, while providing an insight into areas of need going forward. For instance, the play­ers showed improvement in set pieces.

Recall that one of the issues be­fore Malian Eric Chelle took over was how the Super Eagles looked all over the place when attacking or defending set plays.

However, in Friday’s game, the former African champions became more dangerous when attacking set pieces. Chelle’s emphasis on this aspect was ev­ident, with numerous set-piece deliveries causing problems for the Rwandan defence. Victor Osimhen’s opening goal was a direct result of this strategic focus, proving that proper orga­nization and timing in dead-ball situations can be decisive. In the first half alone, they could have scored three times just from set pieces and this is a welcome im­provement.

Defensively, the team gave nothing away as the backline dis­played solid organisation, effec­tively limiting Rwanda’s attack­ing opportunities. The defenders maintained good positioning, en­suring Rwanda’s forwards were constantly under pressure. This defensive stability provided the platform for Nigeria’s attacking players to excel.

However, there were concerns in the midfield of the team with emphasis on creativity. For exam­ple, while Nigeria dominated pos­session for large spells, the mid­field lacked fluidity, particularly in the first half. The combina­tion of long balls and wing plays failed to break down Rwanda’s defensive structure effectively.

This exposed a gap in mid­field creativity, with fewer inci­sive passes or clever movement to unlock spaces. Improving this area will be crucial in tougher fixtures.

Also, the Super Eagles’ usual wing play was almost non-exis­tent as Nigeria’s wide players struggled to stretch Rwanda’s defensive shape. The expected penetration from the flanks was minimal, and crosses often failed to connect with attackers. This reduced the team’s attacking threat, placing more pressure on central players like Osimhen to create opportunities.

https://independent.ng/wcup-qualifiers-seagles-kigali-battle-and-task-before-team-against-zimbabwe/
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