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Nigeria's concession of two goals against Sierra Leone in Sunday’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifier underscores a wider problem for Jose Peseiro.
Nigeria secured qualification to next year’s Africa Cup of Nations with a 3-2 win over Sierra Leone on Sunday, but two more goals were let in.
For anyone wondering, that is four goals conceded in five competitive matches or 13 in nine games when you include non-competitive fixtures.
In isolation, losing a two-goal lead can be excused, especially considering the stream of chances or half chances in the opening 45 minutes. That level of comfort perhaps brought about the dip in performance after the break.
The Leone Stars halved the deficit through Mustapha Bundu before the interlude and levelled in the 84th minute after Augustus Kargbo’s driven shot from around 20 yards beat Adebayo Adeleye.
It looked set to be another game in which John Keister’s men would not give in easily against the Super Eagles, having come from 4-0 down to draw 4-4 in an AFCON qualifier in 2020 and taking the lead before losing 2-1 last year. Nigeria must be sick at the sight of the Leone Stars.
Qualification for the finals was sewn up with one game to play, but making it to another continental showpiece was not in question because the top two nations in each section were guaranteed a spot. Only a disaster would have stood in Nigeria’s way.
Instead, the inclination to concede chances and goals is a bugbear.
How Nigeria fares vis-a-vis other top-ranked sides
Compared to other group leaders excluding Namibia and South Africa, who have played fewer games due to Kenya and Zimbabwe’s disqualification in Groups C and K, respectively, Nigeria’s four goals against betters four of the other nine table-topping nations.
Across their five games, the Super Eagles have kept two clean sheets — against the lowly Sao Tome and Principe and Guinea-Bissau — which is one more than DR Congo, level with African champions Senegal, Burkina Faso and Zambia, and one fewer than Egypt, Ghana, Algeria, Mali and Equatorial Guinea.
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Digging deeper into some data, the numbers show that the Super Eagles have conceded six clear-cut chances across their five games.
Only the DRC (10) and the Equatoguineans (10) have allowed more big chances, even if a look at the pair’s games shows that six high-quality openings conceded against Ivory Coast and Tunisia, respectively, accounted for the double-digit tally.
How have Nigeria conceded their goals in AFCON qualifying?
Peseiro’s men have conceded a promising opportunity in all but one game in qualifying — the annihilation of Sao Tome — perhaps revealing a soft underbelly and a tendency to face high-quality chances.
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The goals conceded in the AFCON qualifiers have materialised from different situations.
Jonathan Morsay’s diving header Nigeria’s 2-1 win over the Leone Stars came about after Musa Kamara dribbled past William Troost-Ekong and sent an inviting ball into a promising area in the 18-yard box, where the goalscorer ran off Calvin Bassey to score.
Mama Balde netted in Guinea-Bissau’s victory over the Super Eagles after taking advantage of the home side’s unforgivable error in keeping a high defensive line without engaging the opponent in possession.
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09:50 - 25.03.2023
ANALYSIS Uzoho got more stick, but cardinal sin cost Nigeria against Guinea-Bissau
The much-maligned Super Eagles goalkeeper was criticised for the away side’s winning goal despite a basic error letting the team down.
Sierra Leone’s first goal in Sunday’s game originated from a sloppy giveaway of possession in the middle of the park — and Emmanuel Samadiya slipped Mustapha Bundu through on goal — while the second was a Kargbo shot from the edge of the box after Alex Iwobi’s intended clearance fell perfectly in the wide attacker’s path.
While the goals conceded have originated from multiple factors ranging from structural problems, individual mistakes or the opposition’s brilliance, it was interesting that Peseiro picked an unchanged back four for the first time in a competitive fixture on Sunday.
Peseiro's defensive combinations
The Portuguese manager went with the centre-backs from Nigeria’s previous 1-0 victory over Guinea-Bissau — Kenneth Omeruo and Semi Ajayi — and stuck with Zaidu Sanusi and Bright Osayi-Samuel at full-back.
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Two games is a small sample size to conclude, but the trainer’s selections were instructive, nonetheless. With Nigeria’s next game against Sao Tome effectively a dead rubber, sticking to the same back four despite the leaning to chop and change will be striking.
Nevertheless, there is a feeling that the incumbent Super Eagles boss has his favourites. Ajayi has started four of the West African side’s five AFCON qualifiers, while Sanusi and Osayi-Samuel have featured at full-back in the last three.
Injuries permitting, the coming months should reveal much about Peseiro’s preferences at the back.
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Even though defenders get acclaim for clean sheets, a coherent structure masks weaknesses and prevent the opposition from believing they always stand a chance to hurt you if they try hard enough.
Whether this improves remains to be seen, but the team’s defensive susceptibility could ultimately mar the team’s prospects at AFCON.
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11:55 - 19.06.2023
Super Eagles coach bemoans missed chances vs difficult Sierra Leone
Nigeria Super Eagles manager Jose Peseiro has praised his players for fighting back against Sierre Leone but is not happy with the number of wasted opportunities to kill the game.
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