Five Talking Points From Nigeria World Cup Qualifier Win Over Liberia

The Super Eagles cruised to a 2-0 win over Liberia on matchday one of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers on Friday evening. Below are some of the talking points from the game: 1. Kelechi Iheanacho finally replicates his club form in the Super Eagles shirt. The 24 years old striker was able to replicate his deadly form with Leicester City last season in Nigeria shirt by scoring 2 well-taken goals for his country today. The way he controlled the ball to calmly slot the ball past the Liberian goalkeeper for his second goal show how deadly he can be in the opposition box. Apart from scoring twice, his overall play was also impressive, which suggests that he is now ready to play a leading role for the Nigerian national team. 2. Timely Substitutions By Rohr Super Eagles coach, Gernot Rohr, has proven that he’s a man that listens to football loving Nigerians as he made two timely substitutions against the Lone Star of Liberia despite the team leading 2-0. The German tactician who is used to making late substitutions in previous games, brought in Samuel Kalu and Paul Onuachu to replace the duo of Victor Osimhen and Moses Simon in the second half. 3. Improved Play By The Full Backs The duo of Ola Aina and Jamilu Collins had difficult times in the first half but improved markedly in the second half. They defended and helped in attack in good measure and it will be nice to see how Gernot Rohr picks his men for the positions on Tuesday afternoon against Cape Verde. 4. Poor Pitch Of Teslim Balogun Stadium Few hours to the kick off yesterday, the heavens opened as a heavy down poor rocked the Lagos metropolis. While the rain persisted for hours, fears mounted that the match could be postponed as the pitch was already water logged. It took the maintenance team some effort to drain the pitch before kick off, however, the effects were obvious when both teams took to the field. The movement of the ball was not fluid as the Super Eagles struggled in the opening minutes of the match to string some passes on the astro turf pitch. 5. Switch of Wing Plays The duo of Moses Simon and Kelechi Iheanacho kept the Liberian defence guessing all evening. It was a smart tactic which ensured that the defenders were dragged out of positions.