Nigeria face Cameroon on Saturday in AFCON 2023 Round of 16 Clash, and although the Super Eagles qualified from their group quite comfortably, they have not looked convincing at this year’s tournament.
Nigeria came from behind to get a draw against tournament surprise package Equatorial Guinea on Matchday 1. Edgy 1–0 Victories against hosts Côte d’Ivoire, and Guinea-Bissau meant the Super Eagles booked a place in the next round against West African rivals Cameroon.
It is going to be a different story on Saturday, as it is straight up knockout football. Let’s talk about 3 things, Nigeria can fix in order to be better prepared to face an unpredictable Cameroon side.
Intensity and Cohesion
The Super Eagles have been guilty of some sloppy play and gross lack of cohesion in all of their 3 matches so far at the tournament.
While that is excusable for the first couple of matches because of the nature of the competition, and the little time to prepare, Jose Paseiro’s men need to step things up now.
Cameroon have a solid midfield with Napoli’s Zambo Anguissa and the energetic Olivier Ntcham, the pair can take control of things if Nigeria fail to stamp an authority in the game on Saturday early on.
Effective Wing-play
It’s the knock-out round now, so Nigeria should drop anything that is not effective. Wingers like Moses Simon, Samuel Chukwueze, Ademola Lookman have not been all too effective at the tournament so far for the Super Eagles.
Jose Paseiro must make sure Nigeria go into the game against Cameroon to make full use of the high level wingers they have.
He has to make a plan to enable them to produce their best, and not be so far away from target man Victor Osimhen, as this as been the case sometimes in their matches so far at the tournament.
Taking Chances
Nigeria must finish their chances! Despite having an XG of 6.1 (3rd highest currently at the tournament), Nigeria have only scored 3 times, with just one coming from their own player in open play.
The Super Eagles have also created the most big chances (13) at the tournament, missing 11 (4 more big chances missed than the next team).
An option might be to partner Victor Osimhen with another clinical striker up front.
Might also just be practising better composure in and around the box. Whatever the solution might be, it needs to be fixed, and fast, if Nigeria are to progress beyond the Round of 16.
They are most likely not to advance