Have The Flying Eagles Been Impressive In U-20 Afcon?

To be honest I have been unimpressed with this Flying Eagles’ performances in the 2 games played in the ongoing U-20 Afcon.

A fortuitous win against Tunisia in their opening match was followed by a laboured but respectable goalless draw against tournament favourites Morocco.

That said, I genuinely think this feeder Super Eagles have redeeming qualities.

Against Morocco, through raw grit and physicality, they curbed the North Africas and stopped them from getting into a rhythm long enough to create credible scoring chances.

Our centre back pairing is good. The goalkeeper is manageable and the defensive midfield infrastructure is decent and the attacking intent is commendable.

What they lack are well refined routines to pry open defences. The infrastructure set up by coach Aliyu to manufacture scoring chances is unrefined. It’s easy to blame the wingers, strikers and attacking midfielders, however, all roads of criticism lead to the doorstep of the coach.

Their movements upfront are a reflection of the instructions of Coach Aliyu which lack sound technical input.

Again, I think Coach Aliyu should go back to the basics upfront. Our attacking infrastructure should practice to perfection the basics of crossings, cut backs , positioning, and effective interplay of imaginative passes.

At the back, they are sound, they need more ingenuity upfront which will help open more doors for this team in games to come.