U20 AFCON : Five observations from Flying Eagles' narrow loss to The Gambia 

The Nigeria U-20 national team, Flying Eagles on Monday evening were beaten 1-0 by The Gambia in their semifinals match at the Cairo International Stadium.

Allnigeriasoccer.com presents the takeaways from the match.

1. Switch of positions for the wingers

The duo of Haliru Sarki and Ibrahim Muhammad interchanged positions at will in the game.

The forwards were keen on catching the Gambians off guard and keep them guessing but ultimately the plans didn't matter much.

2.  Sloppy Midfield

The midfield was very much controlled by the Gambians. 

Onuche Ogbelu gave away the ball that led to the goal scored by the prolific Adama Bojang. 

The middle of the park was dominated by the enterprising Gambians and Nigeria never recovered from the fearless approach of their opponents. 

3. Strong defence

Despite the slim victory, the defensive paring of Abel Ogwuche and Benjamin Fredrick proved that they could be a solid partnership going forward. 

They were strong in the tackles and very good aerially. They made timely clearances and Fredrick even went close to getting an equaliser.

4. Abdullahi Nightmare 

Flying Eagles striker Ahmed Abdullahi had another poor performance in the game. 

Fouled in the box which the VAR deemed was a penalty, the number 9 insisted on converting the spot kick but his effort came off the post. 

Granted, players lose penalties but the striker who came off the bench failed to impose himself on the game in general for the time he spent on the pitch. 

5. Aminu's corners woeful

Muhammad Aminu delivered some poorly executed corner kicks in the second half which were way out of the six-yard box. 

These made it impossible for his teammates gathered inside the opposition box to genuinely have a chance to go for it.

 Izuchukwu Michael
 

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