My 10-point analysis of the Algeria vs Nigeria friendly match in Austria

Ayo Akinfe

[1] First of all, that jersey is garbage. It looks craps, does not intimidate the opponents and makes it hard for the fans to identify with the team as Nigeria. Nike should be told in no uncertain terms that this is the last time we want to see that kit

[2] As per the game itself, our biggest problem was the way we started. We were sluggish, lethargic, slow in the tackle, losing every 50:50 ball, not pressing high and conceding possession to the Algerians. We only turned things around after they scored. Gernot Rohr has to take full responsibility for this, as his pre-match team talk should have included a message to the players to expect the Algerians to come at us at 100 miles per hour. His team should have been well drilled to start the game on fire, with tackles flying in like it was a Merseyside or Manchester derby

[3] One other inexplicable decision was Rohr deciding to play Semi Ajayi as an anchorman. I fail to see the logic behind this. Semi is never going to play as a midfielder in a competitive game so playing him there was irrational. With Frank Onyeka, Samson Tijani and Chidera Ejuke in camp, surely it would have made more sense to start a combination of the two of them. Even if they were not up to it, we would have learnt a lesson or two from the experiment

[4] Today, our midfield was woefully inadequate with the absence of Ndidi, Aribo and Etebo too glaring for all to see. In the first half, the Ajayi/Onyeka combination was simply not functional. At halftime, I believe Rohr should have moved Ajayi into a back three and maybe brought on Mikel Agu to play alongside Onyeka. Even though Onyeka was poor, I believe he would have offered more of an offensive threat than Ajayi

[5] For me, the most positive aspect of the game was the energy of the fullbacks. Ebuehi and Sanusi worked the flanks brilliantly. They both, however, need to work on their crossing

[6] We actually had more possession than Algeria and in the second half dominated the play more, however, we lacked a cutting edge up front. For me, this all stemmed from the inability of Paul Onuachu to hold the ball up. Had Victor Osimhen played in this game, I believe we would have scored three goals. Why Dessers was not brought on for Onuachu at half time is beyond me

[7] This team also lacked creativity and initiative when it came to set pieces. More work needs to be done on the training ground on this

[8] I must pay tribute to Alex Iwobi for the way he carved the Algerians apart in this game. he was a delight to watch at times. Sadly, there was no striker to finish his moves. Iwobi missed a sitter himself and in the main, we were very profligate in front of goal with Kalu and Chukwueze both guilty of failing to take advantage of some slack Algerian defending at times

[9] At the back, Ekong and Balogun were by and large OK but they gave away too many fouls. Against sharper attackers, they would have been caught out. For me, Rohr should go for the Akpoguma/Ajayi central defensive partnership

[10] In summary, what this game has revealed is Nigeria's lack of depth. We simply do not have second string midfield to step in when Ndidi and Aribo are not available. Uptop as well, Rohr needs to accept that Onuachu is not the understudy for Osimhen we are looking for. In the main, I would call this a successful friendly as we learnt a lot from it.