Finishing Moves
Four goals to nil.
Against the defending African Champions and bitter rivals Cameroon.
After losing to South Africa, a team that had never defeated us competitively.
At the same Uyo Stadium that people called cursed.
That is how the Super Eagles won back the hearts of Nigerians.
It was an apprehensive atmosphere for a lot of fans but the Nigerian spirit that is ever hopeful made the turn out massive at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state.
From the worries of the first and second choice goalkeepers out through illness and injury to the fear of indomitable lions of Cameroon. The loss to South Africa didn’t make it any better and the question of team selection all added to the pressure. It didn’t even get any better when the match started and Cameroon settled in quicker. They had the passes, the possession, and the shots at goal. It took some good early saves from the stand in goalkeeper, Ezenwa, to calm the early jitters.
John Obi Mikel, playing in the Chinese Super League, which most do not consider good enough competition, and having just returned from injury, stepped into the midfield with his experience. However, it took the support of the newly discovered and very talented Wilfred Ndidi, and the exuberant Ogenyi Onazi, to make his impact count.
In fact, choosing a stand out player from the Super Eagles will be an injustice to all the performances. From Ezenwa in goal to the central defence pairing of William Troost-Ekong and Leon Balogun, whose expertise was noticeably missed in the AFCON qualifier against South Africa. Shehu Abdullahi was quietly effective in his full back role, even as Elderson Echiejile caused some worries.
The midfield was the best part of the team as it helped with creativity and solidity that was hard to break down. But it was Victor Moses playing in his natural wing position that brought the mobility needed to give Nigeria goals.
Indeed, the technical team had done a great job with team selection, mixing experience with a sprinkle of young talent. This can not be attributed to the Coach Gernot Rohr only, remembering that it was his selection of highly promising but largely inexperienced players that cost Nigeria 3 points against South Africa. Even the choice to go with an orthodox striker in Odion Ighalo as opposed to a false 9, proved crucial to the dominant performance of the Eagles on the day. Goals from Ighalo, Mikel Obi, Victor Moses and substitute, Kelechi Iheanacho gave Nigeria a comprehensive victory in this World Cup 2018 qualifier.
In the end, despite substitutions and a late flurry of attempts by the Cameroonians did nothing to make the score line respectable. The argument can be made that Cameroon football is in a crisis that FIFA had to step in to help them run it but Cameroon football was also in crisis, with players refusing to honour the invite of their FA when they went on to win the 2017 AFCON.
In the end, the Indomitable Lions were defeated and the Governor of Akwa Ibom state will have to honour his promise of giving the team $10,000 for each goal. The return leg in Cameroon still needs to produce a result for the Super Eagles but with 9 points from 3 games, pack your bags, we’re going to Russia for the 2018 World Cup.
