Nigeria Vs Tanzania 2:1 - Retrospective Reflection

Credit where credit is due, deserved and merited. The timing of the gesture by the Federal Government of rewarding the Super Eagles for last Afcon's achievement is quite strategic, if you ask me.

Several months and a whole tournament has passed since those pledges were made, only to be delivered within another tournament. Well, better late than never, I guess.

But, for me, to the Super Eagles and their coaches, there is a secret message masquerading behind this gesture: win this tournament, expect an even greater windfall of wealth.

Can the Super Eagles win this Afcon under the tutelage of this coach?

One has to be doubtful and skeptical based on the performance against Tanzania yesterday.

The win was achieved but the brand of football was not barnstorming, was not brilliant, was not mind-blowing. It was okay, it did the job, it got the points.

But familiar warning signs,. familiar perilous patterns, familiar pain points persist.

The defence lost its shape for the goal scored by Tanzania. Nwabali tends to stand his grounds whereas rushing out could put opposition attackers under pressure to pull their trigger hastily and, in so doing miss the target.

Their plot was discernible, direct and often well executed offensively and defensively: driven or through passes from midfield to one of the two strikers (which Iwobi delivered with aplomb); long balls from deep (which Ajayi, Iwobi, Bassey, Akor all produced); efficiency in corner kicks (which produced the opening goal); occasional productive individual moments of brilliance (which Lookman, Chukwueze, Akor, and Ajayi delivered); and the defensive midfielders and wingers helping out with defensive duties.

Still, the team still struggled to convincingly locate eachother in some of their passing routines. Because the wingers play narrow, more like right and left attacking midfielders within the fabric of a depressed diamond 4-4-2 formation, this made it easier for Tanzania to tread on the flanks more easily to deliver crosses, one which almost led to a goal after Ajayi slipped and the Tanzanian strikers struck a weak volley.

Was it me or were Osihmen and Adams unduly hesitant to pull the trigger? At times they did one touch-too-many and appeared to lack conviction in their runs and with their final touches. Osihmen will turn me into mince meat for saying this but he was awful at times.

Paul Onuachu: any time he is introduced for Nigeria, opponents know we want to take advantage of his height. Unfortunately, Onuachu did a bad job in disguising his aerial threat. In future matches, he needs to walk the blind spots to go unnoticed before he strikes.

The Super Eagles haven't mastered the art of "overload". Our wingers and midfielders get isolated easily, making the team to be easily divided and conquered. Lookman, Simon, Iwobi, Ejuke (who didn't play yesterday) are particularly susceptible to being isolated, thereby totally upending and capsizing Chelle's tactical ambitions. I am not a coach but I recommend that, in coming matches, these players should be provided with outlets by which these vulnerable players can pass their way out of tight, mass markings from a feisty, hungry horde of opposition defenders.

I saw how Tanzania were able to identify and exploit shortcomings of the Super Eagles' defense and poor marking management from attack but because their players didn't have that much quality, Nigeria only managed to concede just one goal.

If these deficiencies in Coach Chelle's tactical structure are not addressed, the windfall they received from President Ahmed Bola Tinunbu this week will be the only one they will receive for the foreseeable future.