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Which Super Eagles players impressed, and which players should be left out of future squads on the basis of their performance against Saudi Arabia?
The Super Eagles of Nigeria tested their might against Saudi Arabia’s Green Falcons, coming out with a 2-2 draw after late drama that saw two goal in the last 10 minutes of the match.
A number of players starred for Nigeria in the first friendly of the international break, but a few would also be wishing they had not accepted the national team invite after their performances against the Gulf nation.
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19:18 - 13.10.2023
Nigeria vs Saudi Arabia: Uzoho disasterclass costs Super Eagles despite Iheanacho brilliance
Kelechi Iheanacho came off the bench to score a superb goal but it was not enough as the Super Eagles drew 2-2 with Saudi Arabia.
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19:25 - 13.10.2023
Super Eagles 2-2 Saudi Arabia: Nigerians compare Uzoho and Onana, praise Iheanacho in friendly draw
Nigerian football fans lambast Uzoho and praise Iheanacho as the Super Eagles draw 2-2 with Saudi Arabia.
We have rated each Super Eagles player who took to the pitch against Saudi Arabia from best to worst.
Kelechi Iheanacho 8/10
The Leicester City forward almost played the perfect super-sub role after coming on to score what most thought would be the winner against the Green Falcons.
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Iheanacho scored with a sensational finish from the edge of the box to put the Super Eagles 2-1 up after 81 minutes, but his brilliant goal was eventually cancelled out by a last-minute Mohamed Kanno goal.
Alex Iwobi 7.5/10
Iwobi enjoyed a splendid afternoon as part of the Super Eagles midfield pivot alongside Wilfred Ndidi and took on a surprising amount of the defensive work.
The Fulham star showed once again that his future might be as a central midfielder as he bossed the midfield, making two tackles, three interceptions, and winning five duels from six contested.
Calvin Bassey 7/10
Despite being part of the defence that conceded two goals, Calvin Bassey gave a good account of himself both on and off the ball.
No player on the Super Eagles team won more tackles than Bassey against Saudi Arabia, while the centre-back also completed more long passes than any other Nigerian player. Overall, a solid outing for the former Ajax man.
Moses Simon 6/10
Despite playing less than 30 minutes against Saudi Arabia, no other player attempted (6) or completed (3) more dribbles than Moses Simon, as the Nantes winger tried his hardest to force an opening for the Super Eagles.
Simon also set up the equaliser for the Super Eagles after his brilliant run to stay onside preceded a dangerous cross into the area that was turned in for an own goal by Abdulelah Al-Amri to pull Nigeria level.
Terem Moffi 6/10
Terem Moffi is finally getting his chance with the Super Eagles and was on hand to replace the injured Victor Osimhen at the hour-mark.
While Moffi did not find the back of the net against Saudi Arabia, few can fault his effort and industry, which saw him create two chances and test the Green Falcons' defence with two efforts on goal.
Moffi is likely to get the nod to start against Mozambique if Osimhen fails to recover in time and on the basis of his substitute appearance against Saudi Arabia, he would likely give another good account of himself.
Victor Osimhen 6/10
Unfortunate to get injured when he did, Osimhen looked like he was starting to cook against Saudi Arabia before he had to come off just before the hour mark.
Osimhen was a menace to the opponent’s defence as always, but could not find the final touch to get a goal before he was taken off.
Wilfred Ndidi 6/10
Leicester City midfielder Wilfred Ndidi rolled back the years with a vintage performance from deep, making a game-high four interceptions, but also had his faults during the game.
Ndidi’s penchant for a sloppy pass now and again reared its ugly head to taint what would have otherwise been a superb performance.
Bruno Onyemaechi 6/10
Bruno Onyemaechi is quickly making the left-back spot in the Super Eagles his personal property, and considering his competition is Porto’s Zaidu Sanusi, that is no mean feat.
The Boavista full-back gave another good account of himself with a solid defensive display, making 10 recoveries and eight defensive actions, while still managing forays into the attacking third to support the attack.
Bright Osayi-Samuel 5/10
On the other side of the defence, Bright-Osayi Samuel replaced Tyrone Ebuehi and to his credit was a marked improvement on the Empoli man’s performance against Saudi Arabia.
Osayi–Samuel was not spectacular, but he was not bad either.
Victor Okoh Boniface 5/10
Victor Boniface finally got his start in the Super Eagles team, but did not seem to fit the team’s ideas and struggled to impose himself on the fixture as we have seen him do on many occasions for Bayer Leverkusen.
Boniface will surely get better and more in-tune as he plays more often for the Super Eagles, so the former USG forward can always look back at this game as a learning experience.
Tyronne Ebuehi 4/10
As mentioned earlier, Ebuehi was not on his best performance against Saudi Arabia and was among the first people to be substituted.
The sooner the Empoli defender forgets this game against the Green Falcons, the better for him.
Samuel Chukwueze 3/10
Chukwueze showed all the facets of his game that can be improved against Saudi Arabia, flattering to deceive, but ultimately frustrating with his final pass, shot, or decision.
The former Villarreal winger did create a big chance against Saudi Arabia, but he could have done much more if he looked up once in a while instead of making instinctive choices.
Semi Ajayi 3/10
Not the best outing for Semi Ajayi, as the defender was mostly AWOL in the backline. He managed to make only one defensive action throughout the entire game, while also almost giving away a penalty late on for a handball.
Ajayi will certainly have better matches than this, mainly because it would be difficult to have worse ones.
Ademola Lookman 3/10
Invisible at left wing at the start of the match, Lookman did not fare better when moved to a more central position as the game wore on.
The Atalanta man still has not found where he can be an effective option for the Super Eagles, and would have given Jose Peseiro something to think about as the Portuguese prepares his final list for the 2023 AFCON.
Francis Uzoho 1/10
The less said, the better. An awful performance reminiscent of the howler that cost the Super Eagles a place at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
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The Omonia goalkeeper needs to nail down some consistency, or he could quickly find himself as the second choice for the Super Eagles, provided Nigeria starts producing decent goalkeepers soon.
Umar Sadiq
It was great seeing Umar Sadiq in the squad again after a gruesome period sidelined with injuries, but the Real Sociedad man cannot be judged on his performance against Saudi Arabia, which lasted only 12 minutes.
Joe Aribo
Aribo was also a late substitute and barely had time to influence the game.
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