Unsung heroes: How Ndidi-Onyeka partnership helped Super Eagles beat Ghana

The Super Eagles defeated Ghana 2-1 in an international friendly game on Friday evening at the Stade de Marrakech.

Interim Coach Finidi George made a tactical tweak of the team, switching from a 3-4-3 formation used at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations to a 3-5-2 setup.

This allowed George to field the trio of Alex Iwobi, Frank Onyeka and the returning Wilfred  Ndidi at the same time.

The Super Eagles would benefit handsomely from the presence of Ndidi and Onyeka as the duo helped them dominate possession in the encounter, particularly in the first half.

Both are natural defensive midfielders but either of them can play an advanced role- against the Black Stars, it was the Leicester City midfielder that sat deep while his Brentford counterpart was given the license to move high up the pitch.

This provided the necessary balance in the middle of the park as both players had the energy to defend and move the ball forward at the same time.

At AFCON, it was Iwobi that was playing the box-to-box role while Onyeka sat deep but the former wasn't comfortable playing that role and that led to his struggles in the tournament.

With Ndidi and Onyeka, Iwobi didn't have too much to do defensively and that made him get more involved in the game.

While the Black Stars were allowed to dominate the second half, the Super Eagles would benefit a lot with having the Leicester City midfielder and his Brentford counterpart if they are to stick with a 3-5-2 formation.

Abdulkareem Abdulhamid

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