AFCON 2023 Super Eagles player ratings as Guinea Bissau Claim shock win over Nigeria

Osayi-Samuel the only positive as Sanusi and Osimhen disappoint

The Super Eagles of Nigeria took on the Djurtus’ of Guinea-Bissau in what was meant to be a routine win at the Abuja national stadium in the race for AFCON 2023 qualification.

In the end, the fixture became an abject disgrace, with performances from the Super Eagles that were as poor as the surface of the Moshood Abiola Stadium. 

A goal midway through the first half by Mama Samba Balde was all it took for Nigeria to lose its first game in AFCON 2023 qualifying 1-0 at home to Guinea Bissau. 

GK - FRANCIS UZOHO — 4/10  

Rarely called upon during the game, Uzoho conceded from Guinea Bissau’s only clear shot on goal and was largely anonymous beyond that. 

Exposed by his defence for Mama Samba Balde’s goal, the goalkeeper could have done better to close the forward down quicker. 

RB - BRIGHT OSAYI-SAMUEL  — 7/10

The only silver lining in a sea of clouds for Nigeria, Osayi- Samuel did well to stake a claim for more starts with the Super Eagles. 

He was assured in defence for Nigeria, forcing Guinea Bissau to operate down the opposite wing for most of the game. He also offered the most in attack for the Super Eagles, creating the most chances of any player on the pitch. 

CB - CALVIN BASSEY  — 4/10

Sluggish in possession and average in defence, this was not a game that Basey would want to rewatch anytime soon. 

He was caught out of possession a number of times, partly because he had to cover for the perennially absent Zaidu Sanusi, but also because he lacked the athleticism to do this. 

Guinea-Bissau’s goal happened as a result of ball-watching by the two centre-backs who allowed  Mama Samba Balde to ghost in between them. 

CB - KEVIN AKPOGUMA  — 4/10

Equally culpable for the opponent’s goal, Akpoguma was caught out by a route-one pass that the Nigerian defence failed to deal with. 

While Bassey has the excuse of trying to cover up for Sanusi, Akpoguma has no excuse. 

Unfortunately, he got injured as he started to grow into the game in the second half, and that summed up his evening perfectly. 

LB - ZAIDU SANUSI — 3/10

The poorest player on the pitch, Sanusi showed that he is more accustomed to an offensive role than a purely defensive one. 

His poor judgement and positioning left a gaping hole in the Nigerian defence as Bassey had to play two roles to plug the hole left by the Porto man. 

Unfortunately, today was not one of the days that Sanusi’s offensive output covered for the defensive as he failed to produce any meaningful in-roads in attack.

CM - WILFRED NDIDI — 4/10

A forgettable performance from the Leicester midfielder as he left most of the work in the middle to his makeshift midfield partner. 

Unable to create or indeed defend effectively, Ndidi tried to redeem his game by providing an extra body in attack, only to miss Nigeria’s best chance for an equaliser. 

CM - ALEX IWOBI — 5/10

Made to look worse by those around him, Iwobi was one of the few players to actually put in an effort against Guinea-Bissau. 

He tried to control the chaos in midfield but ultimately was unable to make much headway, practically playing on his own for large spells of the game. 

LW - ADEMOLA LOOKMAN — 4/10

Wasted as a left winger, Lookman struggled to make an impact in the game before being taken off for Moses Simon at half-time.

The Atalanta man showed again that he struggles to be effective outside of his favourite supporting striker role and the game against Guinea Bissau showed that he would be better off not playing instead of being shunted by the role he is given. 

RW - SAMUEL CHUKWUEZE  — 4/10

Started the game with some promise, but progressively grew worse as the game went on. 

Chukwueze attempted a game-high 11 dribbles, but only succeeded with five of them, as he became easily predictable to the Djurtus defence. 

Failed to take advantage of space on the outside by electing to force a dribble inside whenever he received the ball. 

CF - KELECHI IHEANACHO — 4/10

Largely ineffective throughout the opening 45 minutes, Iheanacho failed to connect with either the midfield or the attack and spent most of the game jockeying without real aim. 

He would have had a lower score, but for a well-executed reverse pass to Osimhen that created the biggest chance of the first half. 

Other than that particular action, Iheanacho was largely anonymous, and like Lookman was rightly hooked at half-time. 

CF - VICTOR OSIMHEN — 4/10

Not for lack of effort, Victor Osimhen was simply unable to find the right gear against Guinea Bissau. 

Forced wide and deep on a couple of occasions, Osimhen suffered from a lack of decent service for most of the game, but ironically, failed to convert the game’s biggest chance after being played through on goal by Iheanacho. 

He was offside more times than he had shots on goal and will be hoping to correct the wrongs of this game when the Super Eagles travel to Guinea Bissau. 

SUB - PAUL ONUACHU — 5/10

Onuachu troubled the Djurtus' defence with his aerial presence but was unable to find the net however, as he battled with profligacy in the 45 minutes that he was on the pitch. 

He headed a good chance wide from a Moses Simon cross and had three of his four shots on goal failing to find the target. 

SUB - MOSES SIMON  — 5/10

At halftime, he replaced Lookman and demonstrated what a true left winger could do for the second 45 minutes. 

He had the beating of his marker on a number of occasions, but once again struggled to find the final ball. 

Simon also had a great chance to draw Nigeria level, but fluffed his lines by dragging his shot wide while unmarked in the box. 

SUB: SEMI AJAYI  — 5/10

Replaced the injured Akpoguma after 10 minutes of the first half and complimented Bassey a bit better than his predecessor. 

Ajayi appeared more in control while in possession and was more physically adept at dealing with Guinea-Bissau’s attacking threats. 

SUB: FRANK ONYEKA  — 4/10

Frank Onyeka did nothing to improve on Ndidi’s performance, and that in itself is saying something. 

After replacing the Leicester City midfielder, Onyeka was largely bypassed in midfield. He offered nothing going forward, and was not a match for the more aggressive Djurtus leading to him being overrun time and again. 

SUB: AHMED MUSA  — Nil

Captain Ahmed Musa unsurprisingly could only feature for a minuscule amount of time after being brought on in the 87th minute of the match and his total of seven minutes on the pitch would be unfair to rate, as he barely had time to affect the game. 

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