Flying Eagles in final battle for qualification

After a disjointed first half performance that yielded no goals, the African Champions were scintillating in the second half with four lovely goals that shows just how dangerous the team could be, going forward.  A brace from forward Saviour Godwin, an absolute screamer from midfielder Kingsley Sokari and a fine finish from substitute Isaac Success […]

After a disjointed first half performance that yielded no goals, the African Champions were scintillating in the second half with four lovely goals that shows just how dangerous the team could be, going forward.  
A brace from forward Saviour Godwin, an absolute screamer from midfielder Kingsley Sokari and a fine finish from substitute Isaac Success got Nigeria’s campaign back on track after an opening day 4:2 loss to five-time champions Brazil.
Coach Manu Garba had made several changes to his starting line-up, most significantly dropping the star trio of Kelechi Iheanacho, Isaac Success and Musa Yahaya.
Not much came in form of clear cut chances before the interval as the Koreans were resolute in their defence while their goalkeeper was required to save his team a couple of times.
 Luckily, Brazil defeated Hungary 2:1 to take top spot in Group E with six points. They are followed by Hungary, who have three points but a better goal difference than third-placed Nigeria. Korea DPR are bottom with no point.
The task for the two-time finalist will be to defeat the Hungarians to clinch the second slot from the Group.
Nigeria should not have been in this situation if the coaching crew of the team had done the needful ahead of the opener against Brazil.
Having entered into the 2015 FIFA U20 World Cup in New Zealand undefeated, all eyes were on the boys to make impact and go all the way into the final of the championship.
However, their first Group E encounter with Brazil on Monday showed that there was still much work to be done on the team.
Before the commencement of the Championship, pundits have identified the defence department as the weak link in the team.
Head Coach of the team, Manu Garba also acknowledged that an improvement was needed in the defence department ahead of their game against Brazil notwithstanding the fact that they have not been so threatened in their friendly matches prior to the World Cup.
Despite identifying this weakness, Garba never did anything about it and the Brazilians would not allow the Nigerians to go unpunished.
Besides, experts also questioned the tactics of the coaching crew in the game against Brazil, blaming Garba for deploying four attackers; Isaac Success, Taiwo Awoniyi, Kelechi Iheanacho, Yahaya against an attacking side with the midfield so exposed which the Brazilians capitalized on in the second half, creating chances at will and profiting twice from goalkeeping blunders off Joshua Enaholo.
“Against Brazil, there were two tiers of mistake; First, Manu Garba fielded four attackers against Brazil at the expense of the defence. You don’t do that against an attacking-minded team like Brazil.
“Secondly, the Brazil scored two goals and the Flying Eagles’ goalkeeper gifted them another two goals,” a sports pundit, Ajibola Mathew lamented.
Though, Garba made some adjustment in the second game, dropping Yahaya, Iheanacho Success in favour of more defensive minded players, it was hard to measure the impact of his change because the Koreans were not so adventurous.
The Asians were more concerned about frustrating the Flying Eagles and catching them on the counter. They were so successful in the first half before the Nigerians went rampant in the second.
“In truth, Korea DPR never really looked like scoring, which meant that the other big personnel decision of the game [defence] escaped real scrutiny,” another football analyst, Solace Chukwu noted.
The Flying Eagles will face Hungary in their final match on Sunday and will need at least a draw to be sure of progress.
Unlike the Koreans who applied a defensive approach, Hungary will attack Nigeria. They showed that they were an attacking side with the emphatic 5-1 defeat of Korea DPR. They were also the first to strike against Brazil.
Hungary rely on tactical sophistication and impressive tackling skills to subdue their opponents, which nearly worked against Brazil until the South Americans got a controversial penalty that helped separate the two at the end of the game.
Apart from that, they are speedsters, fancies long balls and always put their height to use.
The Europeans’ hopes of causing an upset against the African champions rest on striker Bence Mervo, who made a name for himself by scoring a hat-trick in his team’s 5-1 win over Korea DPR.
Few in the footballing world knew the name of Bence Mervo before his hat-trick for Hungary against Korea DPR on Monday. That same name is now on everyone’s lips, with his team-mates hoping their striker can make the difference once more against Nigeria.
This is despite the fact that the European side’s newest hero is playing in a different position to the one he is used to. “He never plays as a centre forward when you watch him for his club,” Coach Bernd Storck explained in an interview with FIFA.com. “He’s a winger really, but I think he can also be deployed as a No 9. We’ll see where I put him in the next game. He’s a very important player for us.”
Analysts believe the coaching crew must find a balance between attack and defence to get past Hungary tomorrow.
“The scoreline [against Korea] was certainly emphatic, but the team did struggle to overcome a disciplined, but not particularly well-organized Korean defence, and only got going after half-time.
“It required a goalkeeping error, a flap at an arcing Musa Mohammed cross to allow Godwin head into an unguarded net, but once that went in, the Asian side visibly deflated,” Chukwu pointed out.
It is therefore safe to say emphasis must be placed on confidence building in the match against the Europeans. It was obvious that each goal against the Koreans boosted the team’s confidence as the clock ticked.
But Chuckwu is of the view that, coach Garba still has to decide how to achieve the right balance in the team.
“To lean so much toward defensive solidity dilutes the team’s identity and takes away from what made them favourites in the first place,” he said.
Meanwhile, another football analyst, Martin Odiete is of the opinion that the team must stick to its winning formula which worked so well against Korea.
“The Flying Eagles must keep on with the winning formula since the one adopted against Brazil failed. Manu Garba should stick with what worked for him.”
He stressed that two variables; the change in tactics and the psychological superiority Brazil always have over Nigeria were responsible for the loss, adding that Hungary should be dispersed without much stress.
Be that as it may, Garba must study the Hungarian’s clips and plan his tactics around his observation of the team because Nigerians will not accept anything less than an outright victory and a second round slot at the end of tomorrow’s match.