Super Eagles player ratings: Mustapha costly, Leonard exposed, Alimi and Ijoma ineffective

Nigeria suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat to Senegal in their African Nations Championship opener at the Amaan Stadium, Zanzibar City on Tuesday evening.

Allnigeriasoccer.com rates the performance of the players.

The starters

Goalkeeper

Lawal Mustapha: The Shooting Stars goalkeeper will be disappointed with his mistake that led to the conceded goal. (4/10)

Junior Harrison Nduka: The Super Eagles captain showed his leadership qualities but was unable prevent the late goal. (5/10).

Ngengen Leonard: Leonard will be disappointed he couldn’t prevent Gomis' strike, which proved to be the only goal of the match. (4/10)

Sodiq Ismail: The Super Eagles' fullback offered little going forward but was defensively solid (6/10).

Taiwo AbdulRafiu: Taiwo found it difficult to handle the lively Libasse Gueye and was eventually forced off with an injury in the second half. (4/10)

Midfielders and forwards

Akanni Qudus: Akanni also struggled to make an impact in midfield and offered little in terms of chance creation. (4/10)

Adedayo Olamilekan: Olamilekan struggled to make an impact and frequently lost control in midfield. (4/10)

Michael Tochukwu: Tochukwu struggled in midfield after picking up a yellow carded early in the game (5/10)

Jabbar Malik: Jabbar showed flashes of quality but ultimately failed to make an impact during his time on the pitch. (4/10)

Ijoma Anthony: Another forward who had a few moments of brilliance but couldn’t truly influence the game. (4/10)

Sikiru Alimi: The Remo Stars striker was selected ahead of NPFL top scorer Anas Yusuf but failed to justify his selection. (3.5/10)

The substitutes

Uzondu Harrison: Uzondu came on in the second half to replace the injured Taiwo Abdulrafiu but received a booking late in the game. (4/10)

Shola Adelani: Adelani was brought on after the Eagles conceded and added urgency and fluidity to the team’s attacking play. (4/10)

Temitope Vincent: Vincent came on in the closing stages and injected directness into the team’s forward play. (4/10)

Anas Yusuf: Not enough minutes to be rated. N/A

Godwin Obaje: Not enough minutes to be rated. N/A

Adeyemi Adewale

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