Nigeria vs Ethiopia: A Tactical Analysis

Overview:
I must begin by making a comment about the Abuja pitch because whether by commission or omission, the Sports Ministry and the NFF have combined to severely handicap the team by the abysmally poor quality of the Abuja turf. For those Nigerian fans who do not understand the value of a good pitch, a poor playing surface affects the bounce and speed of the ball, constrains the movement of a player and his ability to control the ball or execute a pass.

Because Nigeria does not have a history of long ball football, but rather emphasises the passing game, the Nigerian football authorities must understand that they help the opponent when the Super Eagles are made to play on a pitch unsuitable even for cattle to graze! 57 percent of Nigeria's turnover of the ball, including uncompleted passes and poor ball control resulted from the poor pitch. Surely we can do better than the Abuja pitch!

Siasia suprisingly began with a 4-4-2 formation, with the quartet of Chibuzor, Yobo, Ambrose and Taiwo in defence; Joel and Mikel in central midfield, Nsofor and Musa out wide, and Peter Utaka and Anichebe in attack,

The 4-4-2 formation had the effect of giving a young team solidity and a base from which to build chemistry and confidence. The result: a solid start even while accounting for a poor, poor opponent in Ethiopia. It also enabled the team execute a high pressing game, which disrupted an opponent lacking technical skills, and even when the team opted to stay in coverage, the Ethiopians lacked the quality to find a penetrating pass. What is more, the distances between players was closer than we ever saw under the clueless Amodu, which enabled greater fluidity and higher completion rates in the passing game, in turn leading to greater possession, especially higher up the pitch.


Defence:
With little to do, the challenge for the defence was to maintain concentration over ninety minutes. Efe Ambrose was the suprise choice to start alongside Joseph Yobo and twice, his confidence failed him woefully. A better opponent would have profited from this. I suspect he may be more comfortable in left central defence. The spacing between the two center-backs remains suspect, and there were moments of discomfort in dealing with the long ball. The search for a left centerback continues...

Of the two fullbacks, Taiwo on the left appeared to have more freedom to push forward. This was helped significantly by Nsofor's willingness to drift inside and open up space on the left; and by the defensive position of Joel Obi in left central midfield.

On the right, with Musa staying wide, the undefended zone for Chibuzor to attack was often between the Ethiopian left back and left centerback. More on Musa later....

Midfield:
It has to be said that the clear emergence of Joel Obi in left central midfield, alongside Mikel has brought balance back to Nigeria's midfield for the first time in nearly a decade! His tireless movement, ball control and delivery along with Mikel's controlled possession allowed Nigeria to easily dominate possession in midfield or press the opponent the entire game. His lateral movement in the non-possession phase, was a crucial factor in Taiwo's ability to push forward.

Wide Midfield:
The weakness of the team was in wide midfield, especially in the relationship between Nsofor/Musa and the twin strikers on one hand, and with the fullbacks.

Especially on the right, Musa's pace, power and technique proved to be a decisive factor whenever called into play. This is a major asset that requires considerable effort in adapting team tactics to better exploit. In my opinion, the key would be to design play in a manner to consistently isolate him with the full back or force the fullback to turn and defend, as well as position him to attack the diagonal cross-field ball in the zone between the centerback and the left back.

There needs to be greater clarity in the relationship between Musa and Chibuzor to enable them compliment rather than crowd one another. Musa on his part, needs to provide much greater cover on the inside of his fullback.

On the left, Nsofor showed much better tactical awareness in drifting inside of the fullback to create space for Taiwo to overlap. However, his decision making and final delivery remains average. This player continues to be an enigma, especially for one with so much in his toolbox. As I have said in a previous piece, we must make a major effort to recruit Sam John. In the interim, we must look at Victor Moses in this role.

The second major weakness of the midfield was the near complete absence of the late runs into the penalty area from deep by the central midfielders, especially Mikel who was the more advanced of the two. With Ethiopia attempting a high line while executing a tepid offside tactic, this vulnerability was suprisingly not exploited successfully.

Attack:
In attack, the good news is that the team is creating chances in droves. But the serial inability to take the chances must be a concern for Coach Siasia. A major failure here was Anichebe, perhaps as a result of his long lay-off from injury. Perhaps from a lack of familiarity, the relationship between the two strikers was largely no-nexistent. While both took turns to drop into midifeld, none of them was able to exploit the space in front of the defence, as Ike Uche was to demonstrate in dominant fashion.

There is a lack of clarity in the movement of the strikers out wide, and the consequent movement of other players in the attacking phase. The result was a lack of balance in the the attacking third, with several quality deliveries from Taiwo and Musa with no one on the end of it.

The transition game was largely not visible. In fairness, the poor quality of the pitch made this near impossible.

Overall it was good to see Peter Utaka finally get on the scoresheet for the Super Eagles and especially to see Ike Uche make a scoring return from a long layoff...

A great start and morale booster for Siasia and the new Super Eagles project. The key to victory lay in the pressing game and the dominant move-and-pass game from central midfield.

Man of the match: Joel Chukwuma Obi

Siasia's 24-man Squad for Ethiopia

Siaisia's 24-man squad for Ethiopia, generally speaking represents a good balance between youth and experience, established internationals and emerging talents. Two homebased players, Chibuzor Okonkwo and Ekigho Ehiosun are retained from the friendly against Sierra Leone, while Ike Uche makes a wellcome return from long term injury.

With Micheal Odibe failing to impress in the friendly, Efe Ambrose is rewarded for a solid start to his career in Europe (Isreal). Further debuts are granted to Nnamdi Odumadi from Milan and Fengor Ogude, ex-Warri Wolves and current Valerenga central attacking midfielder. Odumadi is a talented player with good engine and delivery from wide left or right, but sometimes lacking decisiveness. Fengor on the other hand is a clever player, but would need a lot of guidance in both movement in finding and utilizing space, and decisionmaking, especially in getting him to completely buy into the modern team game.

In defence, I continue to question the wisdom of persisting with Olubayo Adefemi. Physically he was never the quickest player available, and following several injuries has lost a few more steps. In my opinion, Luqmon Adekunle at FC Lucerne should be considered, as should the U-20 and Igbino Babes defender Aigbe Oliha. Too often, our best homebased players can be found in our youth teams, and we deny ourselves the benefit of their best years by persisting in using them at a level that is below their standards.

With Mikel still recovering from injury, Obiora Nwankwo looks set to start in defensive midfield, with Joel Obi beside him in center midfield-left. I would again recommend that Siasia and his team look at Samson Godwin as an option in defensive midfield.

But the most important issues are of a tactical nature, especially with regards to the positioning of players and their movement in the non-possession phase of the ball. The main evaluation points for this game would be the following:

1. the setup of the defensive line and the effective execution of a pressing system

2. movement of players in the non-possession phase of the game

3. tempo and speed of the passing game as well as transition

4. the roles of the wide players, be they wide midfielders or wide forwards; and  

5. ability to execute a controlled possession game in central midfield, especially with the likely absence of Mikel.

Full squad below:

Goalkeepers: Vincent Enyeama, Dele Aiyenugba

Defenders: Chibuzor Okonkwo, Olubayo Adefemi, Taye Taiwo, Uwa Echiejile, Joseph Yobo, Dele Adeleye, Efe Ambrose

Midfielders: John Mikel Obi, Obiora Nwankwo, Joel Obi, Fengor Ogude, Nnamdi Oduamadi, Kalu Uche, Ahmed Musa

Strikers: Osaze Odemwingie, Victor Anichebe, Peter Utaka, Obinna Nsofor, Ikechukwu Uche, Ekigho Ehiosun, Solomon Okoronkwo, Obafemi Martins

Super Eagles: Between a Knife and a Scalpel...

The Super Eagles needs a knife, but we are increasingly offered a scalpel by Samson Siasia.

2. The SE need a total makeover, but instead we get cosmetic changes; a step forward here, is then nullified by two steps backwards there...We bring in Joel Obi, give Emenike his first Super Eagles cap, and then quickly we begin to speak about the return of Yakubu! Its the same tardy approach to national team selection that has led us inexorably to the golden bronze!

3. The period following a world cup is when teams begin to rebuild. The extent of rebuilding is often determined by their performance at the world cup and the average age of their players. For some, like Brazi, Italy and France, it is a total makeover; for others like Spain, Argentina, CIV, Ghana, it is more a case of tweaking around the edges, and building from an existing core.

4. But lets be clear- this Nations cup qualification series is not simply about qualifying for the next tournament.

5. A qualification series typically has two objectives. The obvious one is to win your games and qualify. The other objective of similar significance is to build your tournament team, through a methodical process, that involves trials for new players, trials of tactical schemes, and development of team spirit.

6. In such a methodical approach, the first level of assessment is of course results form the field, without which everything else is mute. But following closely is the performance on the pitch, which should improve steadily, and be seen to, as the team and the coach develop chemistry.

7. Thus in his first three games with France, Lauren Blanc's team has steadily improved, with the young players visibly growing in confidence with each game, and the gap between the results and performance are starting to narrow significantly.

8. For a team that has been stagnant for more than a decade, the Super Eagles face the urgency of now!What is more, when a team fails as woefully as the Castrol statistics from our world cup performance shows (link), heads need to roll! Having parted ways with Lars Lagerback, there is an urgent need to weild the long knives at the playing personnel, not the surgeon's scalpel!

 

9. In my considered opinion, no one player exemplifies the locust years as much as Joseph Yobo, as both the captain, senior player, and patent holder on 'bigman football'. Yes, the very same Joseph Yobo, with the same idle gait, standing on the balls of his feet and looping the ball lazily out of defence, 'to no one in particular', to borrow from the late Ernest Okonkwo, or setting an offside trap with the leadership skills of a Mubarak!

 

10. Lets be clear, I have every confidence in Samson Siasia to lead the Super Eagles to greatness again, but there is still a palpable lack of urgency in making the critical changes that the team requires.

 

11. The Super Eagles need a new direction and the coaching crew need to lay down the marker. This process should begin with a new leadership, a new captain, one who can inspire the entire team, as well as enhance team spirit, not undermine it!

 

12.  Every game that we play without clear resolution of what our long term goals are with the Super Eagles, including the choice of a new leadership, the choice of viable players and the tactical direction of the team is an opportunity lost.

13. Unlike in the past when viable national team players emerged at top European clubs, the reality today is that we must look for our players wherever available and make them international class players. We need to judge our players by the quality of their talent and not the profile of their clubs, and especially not the strength of their agency representation. We need a Samson Siasia who is professional and transparent, who can and is willing to think outside the box, who knows where to look for our players and the self belief to take risks with them.

14. The SE needs a knife, a butcher's knife, but we are offered a blunt scalpel...