With just a few hours left for Nigeria vs Liberia 2022 World Cup qualifier game schedule for the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Goalballlive's Augustine Akhilomen takes a thorough view on how the Super Eagles can conquer their West African neighbour.
Early Goals
If the Super Eagles must control the tempo of the game, they must be ready to score early goals in order to unsettle their Liberian counterpart.
There is no doubt that with the caliber of strikers such as Victor Osimhen, Paul Onuachu, and Kelechi Iheanacho at Super Eagles manager, Gernot Rohr's disposal, scoring goals should not be a thing of worry.
Total Concentration To Avoid Sierra Leone Shocker
The Eagles must play from the blast of the whistle to the final whistle. They must have it at the back of their mind of what happens against Sierra Leon in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, where the team squandered a four-goal lead to draw 4-4.
It will be to the success of the team if they maintain total concentration against a Liberian side that will be searching for any lose ball in order to punish our defence.
Water-tight Defence
There is no doubt that the partnership of Leon Balogun and Willian Troost-Ekong have shown greater understanding between themselves since their emergence in the Super Eagles. However, they have to stay focused and avoid overlapping in order not to be caught napping by their Liberian counterpart.
It is also important to note that the duo of Kevin Akpoguma and Zaidu Sanusi must learn to communicate properly with their close partners for timely cover-up. The Liberians may not have a big name player in their attack, but they are deadly if underestimated.
Utilization Of The Flanks
Super Eagles of the years have always been known to utilise wing-play to get out their opponents. In recent games, the teams have shown they can actually punish their opponent using the flanks and this game should not be an exception.
Timely Substitutions
The Super Eagles coach has not been known to make early substitutions and some football analysts often accuse him of making reactionary substitutions, which most times ends up hurting the team. Even if the Eagles are winning, Rohr must be quick to spot weak links and bring in fresh legs to cover up. This is the ideal thing for a coach, watching and reading the game to do.
This article was most recently revised and updated 3 years ago
