In Nigeria’s 3:1 loss to Germany in the ongoing Under-20 Women's World Cup, some of the players covered themselves in glory while others require improvements in aspects of their play.
Starting from the back, I couldn’t really fault Goalkeeper Shukura Bakare that much for any of the goals conceded. Perhaps she misjudged her interception on 1 occasion. Lapses in concentration and communication led her to run and bump into her colleague (Alani) once which almost led to a comical own goal. In all I don’t think she received adequate protection on the night particularly from the left full-back and left defensive midfielder. She can be a bit indecisive and seem unable to even muster an effort to dive to prevent headed goals.
It’s not really working for Left Fullback and Team Captain Oluchi Ohaegbulem in my view. She never looked convincing in 1v1 duels and her side was breached for all the 3 goals conceded. Her tackles weren’t always effective, she struggled for pace and, between them, herself and Left Defensive Midfielder Chioma Olise struggled badly to communicate effectively in coordinating their efforts to fortify that left side.
Some of her passes were wayward and awful; and that ability to sniff out danger and respond accordingly evaded her. On the plus side, she managed some successful interceptions and tried to help the team hold off the Germans with her tackles, markings and shielding which were sporadically successful.
Highly experienced Right Fullback Jumoke Alani had a torrid night with one of her wayward pass putting Nigeria on the back foot. I think 2 of the crosses that led to the goal landed in her patch before the Germans connected. I loved how many times she combined beautifully with Sebastian, Yina, Bello and Chiamaka Okwuchukwu to produce commendable interplay of progressive passes. Some of her wicked crosses as well were worth their weights in gold as these troubled the Germans; her shielding moves were also noteworthy. But some poor passes and ineffective communication and inadequate positioning rubbed her game of enhanced agency.
The Centre-backs of (right) Shukurat Oladipo and (left) Comfort Folorunsho were not up-to-scratch aerially and in positional orientation. They looked suspect and lost at sea when dangerous balls were whipped into the 18 yard box and were freely beaten in aerial battles. It will be easy to criticise this duo to the hills but some of their markings, tackles, interception and sliding applications meant the score-line was not more embarrassing than it actually was. Again they tried to launch long balls to attack with minimal success.
The 2 deep-lying playmakers – (left) Chioma Olise and (right) Yina Adoo – worked incredibly hard to shield the back four but Germany still made headway regularly. A lot of Nigeria’s good work in midfield came down the right with Adoo combining beautifully with Sebastian, Alani and other to generate penetrative passes which led to some tasty crosses. For the second game running, the defensive combo of Olise and full-back Oluchi did not work. If Oluchi is beaten in dribbles, Olise is not quick enough (like Super Falcons Halimat Ayinde helping out a slow Ashleigh Plumptre) to help recover the situation.
They (LB Team Captain Oluchi and DM Olise) are both slow to act or react, a liability to each other, unhelpful to the centre backs and the goalkeeper, ponderous in defensive execution and porous in 1v1 duels (even though it pains me to write these things about them because I love them dearly, particularly Chioma Olise). Yina was good at some last ditch standing and sliding tackles even though some of her passes were overcooked. Both Olise and Adoo delivered neat passes on occasions and worked incredibly hard to fend off the Germans and keep them at bay with markings and break-out tackles.
Amina Bello was alive to her defensive responsibilities off a German freekick to body-block a goal bound effort. Her interactions with Alani, Sebastian and Chiamaka Okwuchukwu to weave passes and unlock German defence were neat and tidy. She struggled to keep hold of possession and she couldn’t help Nigeria stem the tide of relentless German aggression in the first half from midfield. It could be argued that she was overrun in midfield leading to the decision to sub her off in the second half. But, her raw physicality fed well into Danjuma’s practically raw tactical approach.
I still think Flourish Sebastian would have been better placed in the left where Imuran wasted guilt edge chances. That said, when she was eventually moved there in the second half, I think she was already too tired from all the defensive off-the-ball runnings earlier in the game to be of use. Long balls to her were too long for her to latch to sometimes.
She combined delightfully well with Yina, Okwuchukwu, Alani and Bello to move the ball into enemy territory with conviction and intent with swift transaction of passes. She operated will from deep when Nigeria were defending to help retrieve possession and pass but she was crowded out. But overall, she fitted nicely in Danjuma’s pragmatic paratical style.
The biggest problems for Rafiat Imuran in this game were poor timing, ineffective communication, lack of conviction and questionable decision making. Put clean on goal with only the goalkeeper to beat, she ran and shot at the goalkeeper with the option to pass. Twice, she was unable to communicate effectively with Chiamaka Okwuchukwu which resulted in mistimed low crosses to the centre forward who would only have had only the goalkeeper to beat.
She seemed indecisive as to whether to run, halt her run, bend her run, pass or shoot. Some her passes were also piss poor. She might be performing well as a striker in club football, but so far in this tournament, she has been incredibly frustrating and largely uninspiring to watch upfront.
Centre Forward Chiamaka Okwuchukwu also lacked conviction at times. On-the-lam from German defenders early in the game, after excellent work to cut through 2 opposition defenders, she ran and shot straight at the goalkeeper with options becoming available for a simple pass. She tried severally to bulldoze her way into Germany’s defence before being halted.
She worked incredibly hard to deliver some nice crosses and she unleashed some shots at goal before profiting from German mistake to stab home a goal for Nigeria: a worthy reward for her buccaneering runs and constant pressure she placed on the German defence. She could have drawn Nigeria level again but her nicely bended run in the lead up was ruled offside. She was almost at the end of some great crosses. In all she was a nuisance to the Germans with her raw pace, brute, physicality and unwavering attitude.
Substitute Chiamaka Osigwe succeeded in delivering some crosses and few passes. Opeyemi Ajakaiye tried hard to slot into the fabric of the formation but spent much her time off the ball to support defensive duties. I didn’t see much of Janet Akekoromowei to gauge her but her physicality seems imposing.
I can’t fault Coach Chris Danjuma much. His counter-attacking approach produced excellent scoring opportunities. He is criticised for not being tactically astute and imaginatively creative like the Germans but that wasn’t his agenda. Attention to position, quick transition, pace, power, directness and a pragmatically practical approach are the properties on his coaching table.
His undoing, I think is player selection. Perhaps he might want to reconsider personnel for the left full-back, left defensive midfield and left wing. It is no coincidence that Nigeria’s best creative outlet came from the right as Alani, Adoo, and Sebastian with Bello supporting provided compelling service to the centre forward. If his team can replicate that kind of output from the left, then they will be a far more formidable outfit with Danjuma’s formulaic practical-less-tactical style.
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