1. This was always going to be a difficult match, not just because of the Super Eagles schedule in September or the high humidity of Dhaka, but for the simple fact that Argentina is on a higher level than Nigeria, at least at the moment.
2. Argentina's football may not be up there yet, but they can readily boast of not only having the best player in the world, but a plethora of world class players in multiple positions.
3. For this and a few other reasons, for me, the performance of the Super Eagles was always going to be more important than the result. In a game of two halves, the kindest thing that can be said of the team is that they lost the first half, woefully, and were forced to a tie in the second!
4. Irrespective of the absences of key players, and the physical condition of those who had played in the atrocious conditions of MADagascar, the basic organization of the team in the first half was beyond poor, with spacing between players inconsistent and hapharzard, and the tracking of opposition movement non-existent.
5. The familiar sight of a Nigerian team blissfully unaware of its responsibilities in the non-possession phase resurfaced, with Argentina repeatedly able to create a mismatch in numbers in midfield.
6. Even on the limited occassion of ball possession, the lack of movement and/or transition, ensured the team could hardly keep the ball.
7. With hapharzard organization, a defensive system that required the use of numbers to collapse around Messi in his 'trequartista' position and deny him room to build a head steam in his attacking forays, ended up merely providing an escort service!
8. The 'trequartista' position in front of the Nigerian defence thus became as open as the savanna plains in the Nigerian middlebelt, with all and sundry invited to freely forage!
9. With the defence playing square and the team unable to execute a high pressing game (understandable given the physical conditions), deep runners from midfield were repeatedly left unchallenged.
10. What is more, the two centerbacks somehow conspired to repeatedly allow an 'expressway' between them, which Higuain was more than happy to oblidge.
11. At left-back, woe was Echiejile, with everything elderly about his movement and positioning.
12. Upfront in attack, Ideye Brown had the unenviable task of the lone striker where the supply lines had drield out. Commendable as his effort was, Brown revealed himself as not our best option for a striker playing with back to goal.
13. When a team is struggling as we were in the first half, it behoves on the top striker to cleverly find positions from where to recieve the out ball, and the technical skills to retain it, so that the second phase of the build-up can begin. As I described here (Link), these are not Ideye's main strengths, which are evident when he is able to recieve the through ball in space, and recently especially wide left, from where to attack diagonally.
14. Second half adjustments by Siasia, including pushing up towards the ball in midfield, the overall team performance clearly revealed the potential of this team and how far Siasia's project can go if properly nutured.
15. It may be argued (with scant justification) that Argentina had pulled back in the second half, but it is without doubt the reshaping of the team in the non-possession phase that enabled it drastically reduce the influence of Messi, as well as improve in its passing game and share of possession.
16. The real value of games like this is that they enable you test yourself against the best, determine how far you have come and the length of the journey still to be travelled. Dhaka presented some very important lessons for the Super Eagles rebuilding project.
17. In defence, there were signs in the game that Efe Ambrose is starting to make the step up to international football. The real value of a centerback is in his ability to read the game and position himself accordingly. While Dele Adeleye remains for me the best physically equipped option in central defence, he remains incapable of reading opposition movement, relying almost entirely on his athleticism.
18. Samson Siasia is reported to have doubted the availability of better options in defence outside the squad, and signalled his readiness to invite any superior defender not presently in the team (Link). In that case let me remind him of the Torino FC captain and left-centerback, Angelo Ogbonna whom I had discussed here earlier (Link). He recently got invited to the Azurri even while playing in Serie B, but is still available as an option to be explored.
19. At right-back, Chibuzor Okonkwo needs to be commended for his tireless effort and then relegated to learn from the bench. His two-footed lunge was worthy of a red card! While I understand Siasia's position with respect to the Man City defender Nedum Onuoha, I believe it is time to revisit his involvement with the team. A senior player like Kanu Nwankwo can be very useful in this regard.
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