The senior national team of Nigeria were yesterday beaten 1-0 by the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon in an international friendly played in Austria.
Owngoalnigeria.com rates the players on parade for Nigeria in the game which was decided in the 36th minute by a goal from Fulham midfielder Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa.
Maduka Okoye- Didn’t have a single save to make bar the goal scored by Cameroon. Looked badly sighted as Willam Ekong somehow blocked his view but if otherwise then he should have done better- 6/10
Shehu Abdullahi- Started on a shaky note but recovered brilliantly particularly in defending. Offered no route in attack as a full back even when he wasn’t under pressure- 5/10
Jamilu Collins- Combined nicely with Moses Simon on the left. Had some forays upfront where he whipped in two good balls. Didn’t really stamped his authority on the game – 5/10
William Ekong- Always willing to put his body on the line and his head where it hurts. Once again his distribution from the back need to improve as he was guilty of giving away possession cheaply- 6/10
Chidozie Awaziem – Looked good on the ball however same can’t be said about his movements without the ball. Did cut out some balls into the box smartly and helped in restricting Cameroon to just a shot on target – 6/10
Oghenekaro Etebo – His distribution, timing of passes and execution was hit and miss all through the game. Covered lot of grounds for the team but has no real effect upfront – 5/10
Wilfred Ndidi – Won more tackles than any player on the pitch and also drove the team forward even though his passes still need work. An industrious display as usual- 7/10
Alex Iwobi – Had a game to forget. He was slow, wasteful, bereft of ideas and looked very rusty all through. Playing from the right at the start didn’t help him but even when he moved to the middle he still didn’t convince- 4/10
Kelechi Iheanacho- Heavy touches, poor decision making were the highlights of his stay on the pitch. Didn’t bring his A game. A very disappointing performance- 5/10
Moses Simon – He was the only bright spark for Nigeria in attack in the first half. Almost bagged an assist with a cross to Paul Onuachu, Had an effort sailing in before it was pushed for a corner kick. Missed a glorious chance to level the tie in the second half – 7/10
Paul Onuachu- Hard to blame him when he wasn’t getting the type of service that saw him score 35 goals for Genk. Still didn’t convince in phases where he could have done better – 6/10
Substitutes:
Terem Moffi- Couple of nice passes but didn’t get the type of balls that saw him emerged as a hit for Lorient in Ligue 1 – 5/10
Ahmed Musa – Didn’t have the space to run at the Cameroonians hence his output was limited. Didn’t cover himself in glory when he hit a wayward effort from a promising position- 4/10
Anayo Iwuala – Decision making in key area was his greatest undoing for the third straight game in a Super Eagles shirt. Need to do more if he want to stay in the team – 4/10
Peter Olayinka- Didn’t get involved enough to earn a rating.
