So, Nigeria managed to secure a win against Lesotho to keep a little hope of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualification alive, but the performance was not what you’ll expect from team that desperately needs to be at the World Cup after missing the previous edition.
But i guess we’ll have to keep that aside as all we want now is the result and not stylish football or anything of such, having said that here are 5 things we learnt from the game against Lesotho.
1. The Super Eagles team is under pressure
Inability to complete passes, Wrong touches, wasteful crosses, lack of creativity,
Yes — Anyone in the shoes of the Super Eagles players will be under pressure to achieve the objectives at hand — no doubt, but it was way too obvious, and with the calibre of players at our disposal the team should be able to handle pressure way better than that.
2. Victor Osimhen and Tolu Arokodare Combo was Ineffective
The Striking partnership of Osimhen and Arokodare did not not look impressive one bit, both occupying the same space, fighting for the same arial duel and running into the same position
It’s hard to tell if it was due to tactical complications because on paper both are two very good strikers, Osimhen a very adventurous world class striker and Tolu Arokodare a good and promising target man but it just didn’t click between them in this particular game against Lesotho.
3. Benjamin Frederick is Unreal
This man as a 20-year-old with his maturity, composure and flexibility, he’s definitely going to become a mainstay in the Super Eagles team
Coach Eric Chelle lost his two Right Backs to injuries in Ola Aina and Bright Osayi-Samuel which seemed like a problem but Frederick who played in that position today did a flawless and amazing job there, bearing in mind that he’s traditional a Centre Back by trade is just very good to watch.
4. Stanley Nwabali needs to regain his composure
Right from his arrival in the Super Eagles team, Stanley Nwabali has been one of the most confident and composed players in the team, I basically can’t remember the last time Nigerians complained about the goalkeeping department in the team, a position which was had been a problem many years since Legend Vincent Enyeama retired.
So this further proves my no.1 point right that the team is under pressure, because the mistakes and woeful performance we saw from the Super Eagles No.1 goalkeeper today were nothing like we’ve seen from him before.
5. Eric Chelle needs to address the team’s creativity
I’m not by any means a tactical genius but I’ve watched football too much to not know when is team is struggling to create chances.
This Super Eagles team currently lacks creativity and the only player who is capable of producing anything creative is Alex Iwobi and despite the criticism he’s received over the years for his physicality and athleticism, he’s still a very important player in the Super Eagles team.
On to the Next Match against Benin Republic
So these — are my observations from this narrow win against Lesotho, all attention now shifts to the Benin Republic Match on Tuesday.
Even though South Africa dropped two points today against Zimbabwe, Benin won their game and if there’s anything we know about Former Super Eagles Coach Gernot Rhor who happens to be the current Benin Republic’s Head Coach, it’s that he doesn’t joke with Crutial games like the upcoming one
And in as much as we are hoping to beat Benin, a win for them will send them straight to the 2026 FIFQ World Cup in America.
The only way the Super Eagles gets a direct ticket to the World Cup is if we get a comfortable result against Benin Republic and Bafana Bafana of South Drop points again.
