By Segun Ajayi.
Without being an alarmist, Nigerians should not expect an easy match tonight in Cairo. I don’t belong to the school of augury which predicate the outcome of football matches on history or current head-to-head records which ,in the case of Nigeria vs Algeria, favours the former. Rather, my thoughts about tonight’s big game are based on current form of the foxes given how 1they have progressed in this Afcon.
Granted that the Super Eagles are a bunch of individual talents, they have not been tested as the Algerians. Based on the quality of opposition, the Eagles haven’t faced stiffer enemies as the Algerians.Our guys have not been stretched, neither has our goalkeeper, Daniel, been tested, unlike the Algerian keeper.
So far in this competition, the Algerians have scored 10 goals and conceded only one. That authenticates the solidity and discipline of the foxes defence. Conversely, the Eagles have scored seven goals and conceded five. This shows they are more clinical in front of goals.
Talking about the depth of the Algerians, the swift changes the coach effected when their match against Cote D’voire tilted towards extra time was instructive. That their star man, Mahrez , was substituted knowing full well the match could end up in penalties, said something about the quality of their vivacious coach, Djamel Belmadi and his strong belief in his team.
While it cannot be said that the Algerians have played fanciful football, they have been effective. The North Africans can play rugged and are given to antics. So, our guys must avoid giving away avoidable set pieces on the edge of the box. The foxes are gifted with sharp shooters, so Akpeyi must up his game.
For the Eagles to contain the Algerians, the assignment falls on the shoulders of our midfielders, Ndidi and Etebo, and our flying wingers Chukwueze and Musa who must scuttle whatever plan they have, going forward using wingers Youcef Belaili and Riyad Mahrez.
My fears, should the foxes match our wingers pace for pace, what options are we left with. Bereft of creativity in the middle, coupled with an immobile striker, taking outside shots must be an option. Who knows, there could be a rebounce that can be tapped into the net, provided our strikers anticipate such. Finally, to reach the final, the eagles must play like champions. They must raise their game, commit the Algerians and win set pieces, who knows, there could be another moment of drama like the one witnessed in the match against Bafana Bafana.
