Super Eagles player ratings : Akpoguma, Bassey at sixes and sevens; Osayi-Samuel stands out; Osimhen poor

The Super Eagles lost 1-0 to Guinea-Bissau in a 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match played at the Moshood Abiola Stadium in Abuja.

Below are the ratings of  the Super Eagles players : 

The Starters

Goalkeeper

Francis Uzoho: The Omonia Nicosia's goalkeeper was partly at fault for Guinea-Bissau due to his body positioning. His poor positioning made it easy for Mama Balde to squeeze the ball between his legs for the Djurtus' only goal. 4/10

Defenders

Bright Osayi-Samuel:  He was Nigeria's best player.  The Fenerbahce defender didn't start brightly but grew into the game. His understanding with Samuel Chukwueze was the only positive from the game and he was defensively solid. 7.5/10

Kevin Akpoguma: The Hoffenheim centre-back was slightly better than Calvin Bassey but also struggled with the high line in the first half and could not communicate with the latter. He is one of the players to blame for the Guinea-Bissau game as he was caught unawares.  He had to go off due to a head injury but it will be interesting to see if Jose Paseiro kept faith in him for the next game if fit. 3.5/10

Calvin Bassey: The Ajax defender looked out of sorts and his lack of pace was telling as he struggled to keep up with Mama Balde. He was however the only centre-back that played long balls from the back and was comfortable with the ball at his feet. Overall, he was abysmal. 3/10

Zaidu Sanusi: Sanusi for the umpteenth failed to impress as a Super Eagles player. He offered nothing offensively and he was also responsible for the failure of the high line in the first half. He should be binned for Bruno Onyemaechi for the return fixture. 4/10

Midfielders and strikers

Alex Iwobi: Iwobi looked sharp in the first half but fizzled out in the second half. He was a creative force in the midfield in the first 45 minutes though it was disappointing that he could not maintain that level of performance in the second half. 6/10

Wilfred Ndidi: Ndidi was always caught off guard every time the Djurtus attempted to attack the Super Eagles on the counter. He couldn't shield the defence and could have gotten the equalizer for Nigeria but he unsurprisingly fluffed his lines. 4/10

Ademola Lookman: The former Everton forward failed to shake off his bad run of form with Atalanta and he offered nothing and was unsurprisingly brought off immediately after the conclusion of the first half. 3/10

Samuel Chukwueze: While the Villarreal winger's decision was annoying at times, he was the Super Eagles' most active player and his understanding with Osayi-Samuel is laudable. 6.5/10

Kelechi Iheanacho:  Iheanacho failed to impress in the 45 minutes he spent on the pitch. He was dropping too deep and was often detached from the attack and thereby couldn't offer any potent threat to the visitors' defence. 4/10

Victor Osimhen: The Napoli striker had one of the most terrible games as a Super player. He had two opportunities to put Nigeria ahead but couldn't hit the target. He took far too many touches and nothing came off for him. 2.5/10

The Substitutes

Paul Onuachu: The lanky forward was brought on for Iheanacho but continued his goal drought as opportunities were hard to come by for him. He got a good chance to restore parity but couldn't direct his header towards goal.4.5/10

Moses Simon: The Nantes' winger looked lively when he came on but couldn't threaten the Guinea-Bissau defence. His decision-making was poor and annoying as usual. 5/10

Semi Ajayi: The West Brom's defender came on for the injured Akpoguma and had nothing much to do as the visitors retreated into their half in a bid to protect their lead. 5/10

Frank Onyeka: Onyeka came on for Ndidi but couldn't affect the result though he was responsible for thwarting a late attacking move from Guinea Bissau. 5/10

Ahmed Musa : Replaced Samuel Chukwueze with three minutes remaining. N/A

Abdulkareem Abdulhamid

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