Football | Super Eagles

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Dissecting the Eagles against Scotland

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The Super Eagles played out a pulsating 2-2 draw with the Tartan Army of Scotland at Craven Cottage in London on Wednesday night in preparation for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil next month

Coach Stephen Keshi started out with an experimental side as Joseph Yobo came back into the fold to partner Azubuike Egwuekwe at the heart of the defence. Shola Ameobi and Michael Uchebo led the front line supported by Ejike Uzoenyi and Michael Babatunde from the flanks.

Joel Obi and Gabriel Reuben had the responsibility of keeping the midfield tight in what clearly was Keshi giving fringe players a chance to impress him and seek a seat on the plane to Brazil.

Here, Supersport.com outlines the lessons learnt from the 2-2 draw with the Scots as the team continues to prepare for the football showpiece event that will kick off next month in Brazil.

Right-back is still an issue:

Keshi started out with Ebenezer Kunle Odunlami at the right-back position against the Scots and it was quite evident to see the Sunshine Stars defender was quite out of his depth in that position.

Odunlami's preferred position is in the heart of the defence. The Scots obviously noticed he was the weakest link from the outset. He struggled to cope with Ikechi Anya's pace and trickery down the right flank.

Efe Ambrose was able to stabilise that side of the defence when he came on late for the injured Odunlami, but he (Ambrose) isn't a right-back by any means, and unfortunately the 'Big Boss' has not named any specialised right-back in his provisional squad. That itself is dire by all means.

Concentrate boys, concentrate

A lot of Nigerian teams are notorious for switching off at crucial moments. Scotland's first goal was reminiscent of Claudio Caniggia's goal for Argentina in their 2-1 win over Nigeria at USA 1994.

A momentary loss of concentration from a set piece allowed Diego Maradona to sneak in a pass for Caniggia to score. The same scene played out as Scotland set up the corner kick for the first goal.

No one was there to get near the ball in two sequences, Charlie Mulgrew had enough time to flick the ball over Austine Ejide for the first goal. We can't afford such luxuries going into the World Cup, or else we'll get punished.

Set piece advantage:

This is another area that the Super Eagles don't seem to get right. The World Cup will be tight, very tight, and set-pieces might be the difference between a loss, a draw and a win.

Nigeria didn't do enough to make judicious use of their set-pieces. The corner kicks were abysmal to say the least and deliveries into the box weren't exactly the best as Scotland won 80 per cent of the aerial balls into their area.

The Super Eagles had eight corner kicks in total and only Egwuekwe's header in the first half created any issues for Scotland to deal with.

A designated set piece specialist or two might do good for Keshi's team, and it won't be out of place to also develop a set piece routine.

Fitness issues:

It is now quite pertinent that a lot of the players in the squad are lacking match fitness and have to put in an extra shift as the World Cup draws closer.

Credit must go to Reuben and Elderson Echiejile who, despite limited playing time at their clubs, had lungs that held up.

Echiejile did very well in one of his most accomplished matches in Nigeria's uniform for a long time while Reuben did the simple things right in his defensive midfield role.

Joel Obi started out brightly but fizzled out as the game dragged on. Ejide didn't look his composed self and struggled at high balls coming into the box.

Keshi and his assistants have their work cut out in ensuring they get the players fit in time for Nigeria's first game against Iran on 16 June.

The Bench

It's evident now that Keshi has the core of his starting 11. The Big Boss gave fringe players an opportunity to impress him and some did well against Scotland to show Nigeria can have a decent bench.

Only Echiejile, who is a regular in the back four started the game in defence. Osaze Odemwingie's recall looks to be a masterstroke and an added advantage as he gave the attack more mobility when he came in late on.

Uche Nwofor had three chances and scored one in his 18-minute second-half cameo and he looks like he can be an impact player from the bench in the squad.

Nosa Igiebor also did well after replacing the tired Joel Obi in the second half as he became the fulcrum of Nigeria's midfield while linking up well with the strikers.

It might just be a friendly game and inconsequential in some ways, but some key elements of Nigeria's display have to be looked upon and worked on by Keshi and his assistants.

Match stats:

Nigeria 2 (Uchebo-41, Nwofor-90) Scotland 2 (Mulgrew-10, Egwuekwe-52 og.)

Possession: Nigeria 58% Scotland 42%

Corner kicks: Nigeria 8 Scotland 7

Fouls: Nigeria 7 Scotland 13

Shots on target: Nigeria 6 Scotland 2

Yellow cards: Nigeria 0 Scotland 1

Red cards: Nigeria 0 Scotland 0

Player ratings: On a scale of 1-10

Ejide - 5, Odunlami - 5, Yobo -6, Echiejile - 7.5, Obi - 4.5, Egwuekwe -5.5, Babatunde - 5.5, Gabriel - 6, Ameobi - 6.5, Uchebo - 6.5, Uzoenyi - 6.

Subs:

Igiebor - 6.5, Odemwingie - 6, Moses - 5, Ambrose - 5, Nwofor - 6, Oduamadi -5