Flying Eagles Slim Win Vs Tunisia: Retrospective Reflection

I started watching this match from the 22nd minute which afforded me the opportunity to see the only goal, and what a goal it was!

A long ball from centre defence found the left winger who controlled well before laying a pass to the midfielder, whose late run into the box 18 blindsided the Tunisians, before powering through and poking it into the net.

At a time when fans are inundated with copious football coverage across age, gender, in club or international competitions, this encounter was of low quality in my opinion. It failed to draw me in or keep me there for the duration.

I was tempted to stop watching several times but the patriotism in me kept me going to the end.

For those who 'gave this match a wide berth', they didn't miss much.

Going to my observation, the Flying Eagles played something resembling 4-3-3 but there was often 3 defenders at the back because one of the fullbacks was permanently overlapping.

The Flying Eagles displayed an ability to slow down the tempo of the game from midfield whenever they faced relentless pressure.

They will often dillydally with the ball before being rightly dispossessed. There were several misplaced passes. Miscommunication was rife which betrays a team that needs more time to gel and function as a cohesive unit.

There were childish miskicks akin to what you will see in local Ajegunle 5-aside Sunday football. They were nowhere sharp enough upfront to convert scantily curated scoring chances. And their routines were not calibrated neat enough to evoke a round of applause as they scrambled to make an impression.

Although they are "young men", they looked very tired towards the end, making me call their stamina into question. What happens when they have to play extra time?

On to positives.

The Flying Eagles showed positional discipline. They are well groomed in their roles but they need to be aware of their responsibilities. The goalkeeper commanded his area well and the defence looked decent.

These boys actually look comfortable on the ball with some sporadic neat touches which were let down with rudimentary interplay. They played with drive and determination, verve and vigor which lacked enough panache and poise to really wow fans.

The tackles were good, actually. And winning back possession came to them as "to the manner born". They drove into enemy territory with bad intentions only to be let down by bad positioning and poor communication.

Long balls from defence was good and the midfield did what was asked of it. The wings (often the jewel in Nigeria's crown in all our national teams) was underwhelming for me.

They hustle for the ball which is a pass mark for their patriotism and passion.

But for me, one more subpar performance like this (from an entertainment perspective) and I will give up on this tournament and only follow if from news and social media reports.

Well done Flying Eagles for the hard fought slim win and good luck for the remainder of the tournament.