Not everyone was convinced by the Super Eagles’ showing against the Azzurri in Monday night’s friendly, but Goal’s Ed Dove found a lot of positives in their performance

Nov 20, 2013 9:00:00 AM

ANALYSIS
By Ed Dove | At Craven
Cottage

I may not be Nigerian, and
I may only mumble
through the words of ‘Arise, O compatriots’, but
on Monday evening, sitting amongst you all, I felt
very much like I was watching my team . We’ve
been through a lot together, and having
witnessed (and covered) the delirious highs and
the aching lows, it was, naturally, a special
experience to watch Keshi and his troops perform
in one of London’s cosier sporting confines.
I was impressed with what I saw.
Like those in front of me, new friends Femi and
Timmy, like the gorgeous brown-eyed lady to my
left, whose name I didn’t catch, and like the
massed ranks of Super Eagles fans among whom
I celebrated and commiserated, I was largely
encouraged. Nigeria may not be in line to claim
the world title in Brazil next summer, but I doubt
Italy will want to meet them again any time soon.
In an editorial published on Tuesday , Goal
International’s Kris Voakes was critical of Nigeria,
or at the very best, sceptical of the Super Eagles’
chances in Brazil. Voakes is a fine writer and an
accomplished journalist, but reading his report, it
felt like we had been watching very different
players on Monday night.
He praised Nigeria as being ‘flair-filled’, but
suggested that they failed to play as a unit.
Nigeria's XI v. Italy: A Few Unfamiliar Faces
This was not what I witnessed.
The eleven that Keshi chose to start the game
featured Shola Ameobi and Bright Dike in
attacking roles. In the past, I have described both
men as being a potential ‘Plan B’ for Nigeria.
Dike, at 6’1 and 220 lbs, and Ameobi, at 6’3 and
210 lbs, offer more presence, and a greater
physical threat, than our other forwards. They
both advocated their case with fine performances
and well-taken goals; Ameobi’s, in particular, was
excellent, although his agile finish doesn’t
transform him, overnight, into the Nigerian
Zlatan!
Ameobi and Dike certainly bring another
dimension to the Super Eagles’ attack, but while
they encourage direct play and disrupt opposition
defences, they certainly don’t transform Nigeria
into a ‘flair-filled’ outfit.
The creative influences in the side certainly
stretched and troubled Italy’s defence, but while
John Obi Mikel demonstrated his proficiency at
alternating the pace and direction of an attack,
and while Victor Moses caused problems with his
electric pace, direct running and upper-body
strength, neither man can be accused of being
extravagant or ostentatious without backing it all
up with an end product.