Nigeria defeat Ghana in Jollof Derby, Finidi George impresses as Super Eagles coach.
Finidi George made a great start to life as Nigeria coach, albeit as a stand-in, with the Super Eagles defeating 10-man Ghana 2-1 in a friendly in Morocco on Friday.
Cyriel Dessers converted a penalty late in the first half, and substitute Ademola Lookman added a second goal deep into the second half before Jordan Ayew scored a penalty in injury-time for Ghana.
In truth, it should never have been that close. The Super Eagles looked the superior side for most of the game, especially in the first half, and, just as in their time under former coach Jose Peseiro, created a host of opportunities they really should have put away.
Dessers spurned multiple chances in the first, and Kelechi Iheanacho blazed just over with the goal at his mercy. Ghana did look much improved after the break, and Nigeria goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali made two big saves to keep them at bay.
But overall, the Super Eagles looked more likely to win, especially after Ghana’s Jerome Opoku was sent off for dissent, after picking up a first yellow for handling the ball in the box leading to Dessers’ penalty.
Finidi makes his case
One game is always too small a sample size to judge a coach’s ability, or hand them a job, but there can be insights as to how things may pan out.
Finidi, who was auditioning for the job that he has applied for along with other coaches, despite what anybody may say, came out of this smelling of roses.
Having been part of Peseiro’s technical staff for the 21 months of the Portuguese’s tenure, Fiidi built on what was left.
One of the biggest criticisms of Peseiro’s style was that his 3-4-2-1 was too defensive, with suggestions that Nigeria, with a little more adventure, could have changed the direction of the Africa Cup of Nations final against Ivory Coast.
Finidi plunged head-on into making those adjustments. While he kept the three centrebacks, and wingbacks, the midfield went to three and he added an extra striker, with Iheanacho playing just off of Dessers
“We played a 3-5-2,” George said after the game. “At the AFCON, it was only Victor Osimhen up top, but we felt that he was doing too much running so I wanted another player to do that running so that pair could help. You could see that once a player gets the ball, there is an opportunity for a pass. We had to risk it somewhere, but we needed to get something going forward.”
The slight tweak meant the Super Eagles were more positive under Finidi, going forward more often, passing the ball more smoothly, and creating just as many opportunities as under Peseiro.
Nigeria were missing players such as Osimhen, Ola Aina, William Troost-Ekong and Zaidu Sanusi, and Kenneth Omeruo picked up a slight knock in training, so the lineup was looking somewhat weird and makeshift; but the principles were sound, the execution was near-flawless, and the result and performance were hard to fault.
Ghana, who have been poor for a while, may not be a good barometer from which to judge, but Finidi did make his case rather strongly. If he does the same against Mali, who are expected to present much stiffer opposition than the Black Stars, it will be hard to see him not getting the job.
Tanimu make strong case for himself and NPFL
Apart from wondering how Finidi would perform in his first game in charge, Nigerians were keeping an eye on the form of Tanzania-based Benjamin Tanimu on debut.
The defender was playing for Insurance FC in the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) until a few months ago, and his call-up so soon after leaving the local scene led to some grumbling — as the feeling among league followers was that he was good enough to have been called up while in the domestic competition. His performance was thus expected to be a measure of how NPFL players would perform if thrown into the Super Eagles.
With Troost-Ekong absent after season-ending surgery, and Omeruo picking up a knock in training, 21-year-old Tanimu was handed his first start — and he did not disappoint. Tanimu was part of the three-centreback line with Semi Ajayi and Chidozie Awaziem, and he showed complete composure, confidence and ability in shutting down threats down his side until he was taken off injured in the second half.
“He did great,” Finidi said of Tanimu.
“He’s a player that I wanted while he was still at Bendel Insurance, but it didn’t work out. With all the injuries that we had, we had to look for a player that can substitute, and he did it great. Being his first time, it is not easy wearing those national colours, and he did great.”
Tanimu is the second player, after goalkeeper Nwabali, who has played for Nigeria recently within months of leaving the league, and his performance goes some way towards proving NPFL players have the talent and ability necessary to play at the top.
It also strengthens Finidi’s case for the post, as a coach with such close ties to the league.
Ndidi return frees Iwobi
Wilfred Ndidi and Alex Iwobi were among the best players on the night.
Iwobi received abuse after Nigeria lost the AFCON final, despite the fact that he was restricted by team tactics, but he was released here by the recall of Ndidi.
Ndidi’s return after injury-enforced absence, brought calm and steadiness to the Nigeria midfield, but also allowed Iwobi the freedom to range forward and move all over the pitch, picking up passes, distributing them, and generally creating chaos for the opposition.
Iwobi was involved in almost all of Nigeria’s best attacking plays, and he set up Lookman for the second goal. He would have had at least two more assists, had Nigeria finished better.
Ndidi brought steel back in the middle, winning duels, making simple passes, and helping the Super Eagles dominate a team that typically looks to control the middle.
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