Super Eagles player ratings : Bassey exceptional; Dessers poor; Iwobi stars; Mbaoma makes his case; Sani fatigued

The Super Eagles ended their friendlies in the United States with a 1-0 loss to Ecuador at the Red Bull Arena in New Jersey on Friday morning.
 

 

Allnigeriasoccer.com runs the rule over the Super Eagles players, with Calvin Bassey, Alex Iwobi and Victor Mbaoma standing out.

 

The Starters 

 

Goalkeeper

 

Francis Uzoho : Great performance, made crucial goal-bound stops, especially one curling shot from Cifuentes. Also made another crucial save to deny Ecuador in the 88th minute. 7/10

 

Defenders

 

Chidozie Awaziem : Terrible performance. Was at fault for Estupinan's goal early in the first half. No offensive penetration and defensively suspect. Easily bypassed with one-two passes and failed to track runners. Rightly hooked off after halftime.

 

William Troost-Ekong : A bit shaky in the first half and his leadership was found wanting early in the game as he failed to organise the backline on a free-kick which El Tricolor scored from. Improved in the second half and did what was expected of him. 6.5/10

 

Semi Ajayi : Good passes to circulate the ball and took a few offensive drives with the ball to move the team forward. Played too passively at times and stuck too close to Bassey. 5.5/10

 

Calvin Bassey : Another exceptional game by the Rangers young star. Was massive especially in the second half and should have got a couple of assists if not for the profligacy of the strikers. 9/10

 

Midfielders

 

Sanni Faisal : Was at fault alongside Awaziem for Ecuador's goal. Looked off the pace and was surprised at the technical superiority shown by Caicedo and Cifuentes.

 

Was expected to compress space in the middle when in possession and stretch when off possession but he failed to do any. Rightly hooked off for Emmanuel Dennis in the 46th minute. 3/10

 

Moses Simon :  Too eager to make an impression. Played his game at 5th gear at all times instead of going through the phases.

 

Misplaced too many attacking passes a player of his calibre should be executing easily, especially one aimed for Dessers in the 57th minute. 5/10

 

Alex Iwobi : Busy, tried to create from deep and did very well. Also showed discipline to carry out a new role that required him to sit a bit deeper than he would have liked.

 

Also helped the defence to circulate the ball better with fine movement. Faded a bit towards the end of the second half but gave a good account of himself. 7.5/10

 

Joe Aribo :  Generally quiet. Few flashes of quality and good ball carrying but nothing spectacular. Went in and out of the game as he struggled to stamp any sort of authority. Needs to do more. 6/10

 

Strikers

 

Terem Moffi : Had a penalty shout waved off as he went to the ground too easily. Should have shot or lobbed the keeper to try and score instead of looking for the penalty.

No real quality and movement in the final third was mediocre. Also headed a chance across goal from point-blank range when he should have aimed at goal himself. 3.5/10
 

Cyriel Dessers : Starved but fluffed his lines when presented with golden chances. Needs to do more when on the ball and running the channels. 4/10

 

The Substitutes

 

Emmanuel Dennis  : Brought on to do one job, help the Super Eagles get back in the game. He did the exact opposite. First missed a golden opportunity from about 5 yards out after a beautiful out to in cross from Bassey.

 

Also misplaced a couple of passes and showed his frustration by almost getting into a heated exchange with one of the Ecuador players. Terrible outing. 3/10

 

Ola Aina : Couldn't get into the game. Movement is limited which may be a result of his injury. Tried to do some combinations but was let down by some bad touches. 5/10

 

Victor Mbaoma : Showed promise after coming off the bench in the 85th minute and made Terem Moffi really look very bad. Exibited good link-up play with his teammates. 7/10

 

Sofoluwe Mayowa

 

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