The Super Eagles of Nigeria secured their place in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations Round of 16 after picking their second win of the group stage against Guinea-Bissau on Monday evening.
An own goal from Opa Sangante in the 36th minute mark ensured Nigeria picked a slim 0-1 win over Baciro Cande's side to finish just behind Equatorial Guinea in the Group A standings.
Ft in Abidjan. Guinea Bissau 0-1 Nigeria #SoarSuperEagles #letsdoitagain pic.twitter.com/9Mb5SAFkX6
— 🇳🇬 Super Eagles (@NGSuperEagles) January 22, 2024
Below are four lessons GOALBALL drew from the encounter with the Wild Dogs of Guinea-Bissau.
Four things we learned in Super Eagles win over Guinea-Bissau
Victor Osimhen needs to up his game
The reigning African Footballer of the Year has not really come to the party for Nigeria as expected of him in this tournament. Victor Osimhen has lost his goal scoring touch that he's been known for, and this is becoming very worrisome for the team in their quest to deliver a fourth AFCON trophy.
Osimhen had three big chances in the game which he missed, failing to even direct his efforts on target in the entire 90 minutes, this is awful from a player leading the lines for Nigeria.
If the 25-year-old doesn't bring his lethal finishing for Super Eagles in the knockout stage, the team's “Let's Do It Again” mantra will effectively have to wait for another AFCON tournament.
Nigeria are still not convincing
A team that should be feared is one that dismantles their opponents, and Super Eagles have not done this after three group stage games.
Like their group opponents Equatorial Guinea who have scored four goals twice during this stage is sending serious threat to other teams, Nigeria on the other hand will look to be a good news for their round of 16 opponent who will fancy their chances against them since Jose Peseiro's men have not convinced yet.
Samuel Chukwueze is a shadow of himself
Samuel Chukwueze has still not impressed for Nigeria in this tournament. After playing for 80 minutes, Chukwueze failed to register a single shot, and this is not good for the team.
The AC Milan man needs to be dropped in the team's next game as his output has been very poor for Nigeria, not just in his two appearances for the Eagles in the group stage, he has underperformed in the shirts of his country whenever he's been called upon in the past one year.
The Super Eagles will struggle in the knockout stage
Even though the Super Eagles booked a place in the round of 16, with the performance witnessed today, we are not very certain of Super Eagles' chances of going all the way to the finals.
Qualified Our journey in the Afcon 2023 continues. We stay humble and focused.
Thank you for your support#soarsupereagles #letsdoitagain pic.twitter.com/ffYb0kgkOb— 🇳🇬 Super Eagles (@NGSuperEagles) January 22, 2024
Guinea-Bissau had a slight dominance in ball possession at full-time, and they boasted five shots on target against Peseiro's team who had just one on target.
With good teams making it into the next round, failure to convert chances from the Super Eagles will definitely be punished, and if the team doesn't improve in the final third, they just might be on their way back to Nigeria because we saw them really struggling today.
This article was most recently revised and updated 1 year ago