2023 AFCON: What Super Eagles coach Peseiro must do to get the best out of Iwobi

There are no mincing words that Alex Iwobi has had a slow start to the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

The Fulham midfielder failed to impress against Equatorial Guinea and didn't do any better against Ivory Coast when he was deployed deep in Jose Peseiro's 3-4-3 set up.

While he struggled in an offensive role against the Nzalang Nacional, deploying him as a deep-lying playmaker against the Elephants only worsened his situation.

The Hale End Academy product made no attacking impact as he could only manage one key pass all game against the host nation and offered little help defensively, attempting just one ground duel which he won, made 2 clearances and one block.

If the Super Eagles don't want to restrict their chances creation to turnovers and set pieces, Peseiro will need to deploy Iwobi, the team's best creative player in an offensive role.

Despite his struggles against Equatorial Guinea, he still created one of Nigeria's biggest chances of the game when he played a through ball to the feet of Victor Osimhen which the latter wasted.

The 27-year-old is one of Peseiro's best players and the Portuguese tactician will need to find a balance between playing him in his best position and deploying the perfect formation for the team 

A solution could lie in Peseiro sacrificing Samuel Chukwueze to introduce one more midfielder that could sit in front of the defense line with Frank Onyeka which will allow Iwobi to play behind Osimhen and Ademola Lookman in what can be seen as a 3-5-2 formation.

While another change in formation isn't good for the team, the best time to make a change in a cup competition is during the group stages, particularly against an opponent who has little or nothing to fight for any longer like Guinea Bissau.

Abdulkareem Abdulhamid

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