Owing to how they showed burgeoning communication and a potentially flourishing partnership in our last match against an obdurate Cape Verde in Lagos, I was already wetting my lips to taste what the delicious and deadly duo that Osimhen and Ighalo will grow to become in Cameroon.
The combination of Ighalo’s pristine positioning and killer instinct inside the 18 yard box combined with Osimhen’s marauding and lung bursting forays into dangerous areas was going to give many defences sleepless nights at the afcon.
It is sadly not to be due to the painful withdrawal of Osimhen on health grounds.
Moving forward, whomever is paired with Ighalo – if Eguavoen elects to go with 2 in front – has to be ready to do the donkey work and cover more blades of grass. Someone like Olayinka or maybe Sadiq Umar will fit the bill.
If either Awoniyi or Iheanacho is chosen, I fear there may be limited mobility in front because Ighalo rarely moves too far away from the 18 yard box.
He is a poacher.
With 10 goals in 14 games this season in Saudi Arabia, the former Watford man is high in confidence going into Nigeria’s blockbuster opening game against Egypt.
Some have pilloried the league Ighalo plays in to diminish the value of his goals-to-games ratio.
However, if truth be told, be it England, Spain, China or Saudi Arabia, Ighalo doesn’t discriminate.
He ploughs into defences to plunder and pillage as many goals for himself as possible.
Such banditry served Nigeria well at the last Afcon where Ighalo stole the show to cart away the Highest Goals Scorer award.
Is he going to do the same thing again in Cameroon? You betcha!
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