Nigeria’s 3-0 defeat to Guinea-Bissau wasn’t just a bad scoreline, it exposed real cracks in how Chelle’s side is set up. Here are the things that stood out from a rough night at the Estádio Nacional 24 de Setembro.
The defeat against Guinea-Bissau has made the Super Eagles’ qualification chances more difficult. This means the Super Eagles must win all their remaining matches to keep their qualification hopes alive.
Here are some of the key takeaways from the defeat:
The Lack of urgency is becoming a habit
Nigeria conceded early against Madagascar on matchday one thanks to an equaliser from George Ilenikhena and a winning goal from Moses Uso. Super Eagles did it again in Bissau, going behind inside 15 minutes to Franculino Dju’s finish. Twice in four days, the Super Eagles have let their opponent set the tone before they’ve settled into the game. Against Madagascar, they had the legs to claw it back. Against a sharper, hungrier Guinea-Bissau side, that early concession proved fatal.
The midfield trio failed to provide the balance the team needed.
The combination of Ndidi, Frank Onyeka and Alex Iwobi didn’t work against Guinea-Bissau. Chelle banking on a mix of defensive cover and progression through midfield. It didn’t work. Guinea-Bissau kept finding pockets of space between Nigeria’s back line and midfield, and Ndidi usually the one screening the defence couldn’t shut that down. The midfield was exposed and this gave the wild dogs to operate freely. Eric Chelle needs to work on this pattern.
The Super Eagles lacked a target man upfront
The absence of Victor Osimhen was obviously felt during the match. Eric Chelle had no option than to use Lookman , Akor Adams and Taiwo Awoniyi and none of the three could really get the job done. There were several crosses made by Moses Simon in the left wing that could have been converted into goals if Victor Osimhen was there.
Nwabali struggled throughout the game
Stanley Nwabali did make one important stop, getting down to deny Dju a second goal in the 56th minute, but he was beaten cleanly by all three actual goals and didn’t look fully in control of his box for large parts of the game. It’s the kind of performance that will get picked apart given how much faith has been put in him as Nigeria’s first-choice goalkeeper.
Nigeria Were Wasteful, Guinea-Bissau Were Ruthless
The numbers tell their own story: Nigeria had 56 per cent of the possession and put seven of their twelve shots on target, yet finished with nothing to show for it. Guinea-Bissau, by contrast, needed far fewer chances and took them. Franculino Dju, Mama Balde and Alvaro Djalo were clinical when it mattered, and that gap in efficiency was the real difference between the sides.
Nigeria now have work to do before November’s Tanzania double-header, with a friendly against Russia on October 6 in Nizhny Novgorod offering Chelle one more chance to experiment before qualifying resumes in earnest.
