Eguavoen mind the gap: Tactical rigidity and camaraderie could cost us a Qatar ticket, your job

Super Eagles’ chance of picking the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying does not depend on lucky and divine intervention alone but on Interim Technical Director Austin Eguavoen being flexible with his tactics and choice of players OLUKAYODE THOMAS reports  

Introduction

There is a narrative about Super Eagles and forward Watford Emmanuel Dennis which I have read several times on Social Media I don’t think is true but even if it is true I found it justifiable and would probably act the same way if I were in his shoes.

The narrative goes thus: That Dennis is stubborn and that whenever he is invited for a national assignment and he had to seat on the bench, he is not happy. He has also been accused of disrespecting national team handlers.

Football is practical and with the introduction of science and statistics now players’ performance is to a large extent are measurable. If I were in Dennis’ shoes, I will not be happy to be on the bench, and players like Kelechi Iheanacho, Samuel Chukwueze, and Moses Simon are starting ahead of me.

Iheanacho, Chukwueze, Simon and Dennis

Statistics are like mini-skirts they say, they don’t give us the full picture just an idea of it but even from the little they give us, it gives us a clear view of decision making. 

If performances in their respective clubs are anything to go by, Dennis has been better than any of these forwards in the 20221/2022 season. 

In 26 appearances for Villareal, Chukwueze has managed to score only five goals, Iheanacho only six goals in 32 games, and Simon only three in 27 matches.

Dennis on the other has not only scored nine goals in 29 matches he is one of the main men in Watford. His heroic performance led to Watford defeating star-studded Manchester United. Arsenal and the Red Devil are interested in signing him.

Then in terms of contribution to the Super Eagles, the trio has been below average. It is only under Eguavoen that one will see a forward that does not track back to help defenders and midfielders, Chukwueze and Iheanacho are particularly guilty of this.

I am still wondering why Eguavoen has not told Simon that the era of players dribbling four or five players is gone. Players now play progressive football. Vinicius Jr of Real Madrid is a better player this season because he now plays with the team instead of attempting to take on three or four defenders.

Eguavoen is currently giving the impression that he belongs to a class of coaches in the Nigeria league who will never use any other players except their own players. When they move to a new club this set of players moves with them.

To prove that he can do things differently to achieve great results he needs to drop Iheanacho, Simon, and Chukwueze for the Tuesday match and start Dennis.

Victor Osimhen is like Rashid Yekini he needs service, so get a workaholic like Joe Aribo who could easily find his head or leg with the ball all to all to play closely behind him.

. 

 Not just players but tactics

The team does not just need a change of personnel there is a need for a change of tactics. Having played a goalless draw against the Black Stars of Ghana in Kumasi last Friday, Tuesday’s match becomes a must-win for the Super Eagles while the Ghanaians now have the advantage of qualifying with a score draw. 

The Implication of this is that the Eguavoen team must look for a break from the 180 minutes goal drought as the team has failed to score goals in their last two outings against Tunisia and Ghana respectively. 

The sudden goal drought is not a coincidence after they enjoyed a free-flowing attacking football scoring six goals in the first 3 outings at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon. 

This lack of goals can be blamed on the inability of the coach to tweak his football tactics and formation. 

The overreliance on wing play by the coach, which is hinged on 4-2-4 has made the team very predictable and easy to stop from causing damage by opposing defenders. 

The opponent coach only laces a man on the two wide attacking wide men (right and left-wing) and closes spaces around lonely point man and put more men in the middle to outnumber the two midfielders making it difficult to get the ball forward while the third Super Eagles man in the midfield playing behind the main striker is almost rendered useless because of lack of supply from the middle. 

This elementary antidote has been employed by both Tunisia coaches and Ghana coaches and the Super Eagles failed to fly. 

Eguavoen must quickly find a plan B if he wants to save Nigerians from the agony of qualifying through the lottery of penalties after another draw or conceding from another run of play and being kicked out ( God forbids). 

Tactical options before Eguavoen

Considering the attacking qualities in the team and make the up of players at his disposal, the coach needs to give a 4-3-3 or 4-4-2 formation a chance. 

There is no crime in taking a calculated risk by trying the trio of Osimhen, Dennis, and Ademola Lookman as the front three men in a 4-3-3 formation. 

Better still he can try Dennis and Osimhen as a twin attack formation while Lookman and another forward (probably a born again Simon who will be under strict instruction to dribble less and play more with the team) man the wings to give depth to the Aribo, Etebo or Bonke midfield combination. 

Any of these formations will allow the Super Eagles to maximise the quality in the squad and give the team more balance going forward as the Super Eagles can look forward to scoring goals through the middle as well as through the wings as the formations will allow the team to have more dangerous men on the pitch. 

The coach need not necessarily take up this hook line and sinker but he needs to change something otherwise the World Cup ticket may just slip off our hand as the Abuja return leg bestows on the Super Eagles advantage to wrap up qualifications at home, but a plan B is desperately needed to achieve that, will Eguavoen blink?

Eguavoen must get it right or be out in the cold

As the Super Eagles of Nigeria play their final leg 2022 World Cup playoff against Ghana on Tuesday at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium Eguavoen is the darling of all and sundry from players’ agents and managers, to players, to journalists, sports administrators, the darling of the football buffs, fans and supporters and an outright victory (either in full time or after penalty shootout) will ensure he continues to be the darling of football stakeholders and an extension of his contract as Eagles coach but if something contrary happens God forbid, the players, the managers and other members of the football family that he is trying to please at the detriment of his job will remain stakeholders in football and the national team while he will be out in the cold.  

So why not do what will advance your career and make you a darling of millions of Nigerians at home and in the diaspora instead of seeking pecuniary gains and pleasing people that will throw you under the bus at the slightest opportunity.