Super Eagles head coach, Gernot Rohr has done well so far and should be credited with the 4-2 victory but he now has to find a playmaker and target man if he wants to go to Russia than compete rather than just participate.
Rohr is currently the man of the moment after his wards beat Argentina 4-2 in Krasnodar, forcing the rest of the world top, recognise the team, as happened in 1994. Coming on the back of a qualification campaign that saw the Eagles emerge from the group of death undefeated, Rohr is seen as the long-awaited messiah Nigerian football has been waiting for.
To add the icing to the cake, the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) has also got its act together, organising friendlies, sorting out training facilities well in advance and above all signing a bonus payment agreement with the players. For the first time since 1994, we have s semblance of organisation, a well-organised team and are hopeful of success going to the World Cup.
Given the relative ease with which Nigeria qualified from what was described as the Group of death, that included the likes of Zambia, Cameroon and Algeria, it is no surprise that the rest of the world is paying attention to our Eagles once again. Yesterday’s victory over Argentina’s Albiceleste will only increase the intensity of the spotlight in the run-up to the World Cup.
However, what is most gratifying is that for the first time in a long while, we are seeing semblance of proper organisation on the pitch. No longer are we just a team of 11 talented individuals, everyone works hard to retrieve the ball, there is team spirit and we defend as a cohesive unit.
Rohr has been particularly fortunate that over the last few months, several youngsters have come to the fore and been at his disposal. He was able to solve the problems in goal with Francis Uzohor, at rightback with Tyronne Ebuehi and at leftback with Brian Idowu.
Why Rohr had not given this trio their debuts before is beyond me and is something he needs to ask himself as his penchant for sticking by proven failures is clearly his most apparent weakness. Playing Daniel Akpeyi or Ikechukwu Ezenwa in goal ahead of Uzoho was clearly criminal and picking Uwua Echiejile rather than Ola Aina or Idowu is simply taking the millions of fans for granted.
Fortunately for Rohr, he has been able to get away with it and the three youngsters who staked their claims for a place on the plane to Russia , join other young players like Wilfred Ndidi, William Ekong, Alex Iwobi and Kelechi Iheanacho in the team.
However, for this process to continue, Rohr has got to eschew his soft spot for the likes of Ahmed Musa who is not playing club football at all at the moment and be fair by giving the likes of Henry Onyekuru, who are more deserving of a place in the team a go.
Rohr’s inexplicable attachment to players like Akpeyi, Ezenwa, Echiejile, Musa and to a lesser extend John Ogu, despite the fact that they are not good enough to compete at this level, could become Nigeria’s downfall in Russia. I am of the view that the coach should be given the free hand to pick his team as he deems fit but like everything else in life, there has got to be limits to liberties.
As things stand, it is not yet uhuru despite the spirited display and convincing win against Argentina. Yes, we have filled a few holes on the team but that should not blind us to its obvious shortcomings, which need to be fixed ahead of June next year.
Fortunately, we have about six friendlies to find the right pegs for these holes and Rohr should abandon his fixation with his favourites and focus on the task ahead with all seriousness. For starters, he needs to find a targetman sand I am perplexed as to why the likes of Olanrewaju Kayode, Victor Osimhen and Taiwo Awoniyi have not been battling it out for the number nine jersey of late.
With Odion Ighalo injured, Rohr should have used the last two matches to discover which of them is best suited to the role of holding the ball up, playing with his back to goal and ploughing a lone furrow upfront. Given that he is only likely to take two targetmen to Russia, Rohr is not taking this matter seriously enough.
By now, we should know who are best two targetmen are and we should not be having all this unnecessary experimentation using the likes of Anthony Nwakaeme and Iheanacho in roles which they are not suited to. These are wide forwards or support strikers who play behind the targetman and we all know than the ball does not stick when it is played up to them with their back to goal.
Just looking at the way Italy went out of the World Cup, one can see how badly they missed the ball holding skills of Mario Balotelli in their play-ff game against Sweden. The Azzurri found it hard to break down a stubborn defence that got 11 men behind the ball and did not have the option of playing the ball up to a Balotelli-like figure who could hold it up and bring his team mates into play.
Rohr should stop playing kalo-kalo with our World Cup hopes and treat this matter with utmost urgency. Kayode, Osimhen and Awoniyi are all doing very well for their clubs at the moment and there is no justification for overlooking them while handling a shirt to Musa who does not even make the Leicester City bench.
For me though, the main priority facing Herr Rohr now is uncovering a playmaker who can fulfil that vital role of opening up stubborn defences, playing one-twos on the edge of the area and delver defence-splitting passes. Anyone who watched Mesut Ozil’s performance for Germany in their 2-2 draw with France or the match winning performances put in by Denmark’s Christian Eriksen and Croatia’s Luka Modrick as their teams secured qualification will understand.
Without both playmakers, who skippered their teams to emphatic victories, Denmark and Croatia would have struggled against stubborn defences. Nigeria needs a similar player who can thread balls through to Victor Moses and the targetman and who can spot runs in wide positions by the likes of Ebuehi and Idowu come the big dance.
This is not a luxury but an absolute necessity as without a playmaker, we will come unstuck against defences as resolute as that of Sweden for instance. For now, it appears that Alex Iwobi lacks the physicality for that role, Mikel no longer has the legs and Oghene Etebo is more comfortable as a holding midfielder.
At the age of 30, Mikel does not have the lungs or legs for the role and even if he did, we really need his calming security in front of the defence directing matters, allowing the younger Ndidi to win tackles. Mikel can contribute with his long range passing, which should allow him to last the 90 minutes and end the currently worrying trend of him being out of breath after the 70th minute mark.
Herr Rohr has six months to find a playmaker or if we want to be realistic, he has to find one by March and get him to play in the two friendlies during the Fifa window. I would start off by suggesting the teenage sensation Kelechi Nwakali, currently on loan to VVV Venlo in Holland from Arsenal but other candidates can also be looked at.
If Gareth Southgate is prepared to give youngsters with no more experience than Nwakali such as Dominic Solanke, Tammy Abraham, Marcus Rushford and Joe Gomez staring places in his team, Herr Rohr has no excuse not to do likewise. We need the creativity, flair and unpredictability that Nwakali provides and if Nigeria is serious about going to Russia to compete for the World Cup rather than just participate in it, a player of that calibre is essential.
At the back too, our “Onyibo Wall” of Leon Balogun and Ekong has been solid but yesterday against Argentina, it was exposed to flaws that we did not know existed. For instance, for the first time, it was noticeable that Balogun can be susceptible to pace on the counter-attack and will struggle against pacy forwards.
In addition, we know also know that both players struggle to distribute the ball effectively out of defence. Herr Rohr should not allow them to become too comfortable due to the lack of competition, so should look for other quality centrebacks.
I can immediately suggest that he looks no further than Die Bundesliga where Felix Uduokhai of Wolfsburg and Kelvin Akpoguma of Hoffenheim, are both class acts. If Herr Rohr can convince both of them to play for Nigeria, he will have a good selection of centrebacks to chose from and his dream of playing 3-5-2 will be a lot more feasible.
In a nutshell, thanks to the emergence of Uzoho, Ebuehi and Idowu we no longer have a crisis in the goalkeeping and fullback positions, however, if we want to make an impact in Russia, we still need to find a targetman and a playmaker. Gernot Rohr has until March to find them unless he wants to go to Russia just to participate rather than compete.
Ayo Akinfe writes from London.
