FT World Cup 2018: Nigeria's Tournament in Review

“I think like the President said, this is the first time we are going into a tournament like this without any issue of money, bonuses or anything like that. I think everything is sorted now for us and all we have to do as players is go out there and make this country proud and we hope with your support as the father and the leader of this great nation, we will go out there, give our best and make sure we come back with the trophy.” - John Obi Mikel, Captain of Nigeria

These were the words of the former Chelsea man as the Super Eagles took flight for Russia as one of the five teams to represent the continent of Africa at the 2018 FIFA World Cup finals. As you can probably tell from Mikel’s speech above to the Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari, they were ready. For the first time ever, they had probably ticked all the boxes in terms of preparations for a highly organized campaign. Even their trendy Nike kits and elegant African dresses told the story of Eagles ready to reach new heights. In a group with Argentina, Croatia and Iceland, was the success going to be a certainty? Did they actually have enough wind in their sails?

The Croatia Fiasco

In all honesty and truth, that word summarises Nigeria’s first fixture against Croatia, fiasco (a complete failure). As we had anticipated in FirstTouch’s Group D  overview of the World Cup, Gernot Rohr used the 4-3-3 system with the exception that he chose Etebo for Onazi and Idowu instead of Echiejile in the back four. In fairness, the team actually made sense, it seemed to be the strongest possible from the 23-man squad. However, when the 90-minutes were up, all the positivity and hype had disappeared into thin air, Africa and Nigeria were stunned by the 2-0 loss to the organized Croats. A team that had only registered two shots on target for the entire match. It’s not like Nigeria had more. The entire match was a boring affair pitting the Super Eagles who seemed to be lacking desire, strolling the pitch and passing sideways with no sense of urgency. When going forward, a chance created that would be created would just fizzle out as a result of not having a clear attacking plan. The Croats, who were not actually great on the day, revealed more intent and purpose, and left the game with all three points.

A much more re-invigorated Nigerian side melted the Icelanders

Matchday Two arrived and we were all thrown into a frenzy. The social network communities came to a standstill as the African community, ring-led by the 180 million Nigerians flooded Instagram and Twitter notably crowning Ahmed Musa as a ‘governor.’ The CSKA Moscow forward had struck twice in the Iceland fixture to deny the “Vikings” a fairytale campaign, blowing Group D open and giving Argentina some hope of reaching the knockout stages after they had succumbed 3-0 to Croatia in a “tactics gone wrong” scary movie showing by Jorge Sampaoli. A much more disciplined and hungry Super Eagles team could be attributed to the positive result against Iceland. A switch of the formation to a 3-5-2 introducing Chelsea’s Omeruo as part of the back three offered more defensive stability and attacking prowess as Victor Moses was shifted to a more familiar right wing-back role and Ahmed Musa partnered with Kelechi Iheanacho upfront to deliver the goals in place of Ighalo. We started seeing the Nigerian side we had all hoped for; youthful, talented and passionate, and with one game to go in the group stages, the Super Eagles had put themselves in prime position to qualify for the knockout phase as they now sat in a second place ahead of Argentina and Iceland, who both had a point each.

A familiar tango with Albiceleste had a familiar end

The final fixture shaped up to be the most important one. With Nigeria needing only a point to book a spot in the Round of 16 and Argentina counting on some complex permutations coupled with a victory over the Super Eagles, Nigeria had it all to do heading into this last fixture. Gernot Rohr named an unchanged line-up from the starting XI that faced Iceland and had to start on the back foot after Messi seized the first decisive moment of the match and put the South Americans in front with a sublime goal in the 14th minute. As the match progressed, we witnessed the birth of character, winning attitude and fighting spirit in the Nigerian squad as they came from being a goal-down to dominate the 2014 World Cup finalists and equalize from the penalty spot. They could have scored another goal to make it 2-1 but a penalty appeal was rejected after VAR consultation. Mighty Argentina was pushed to the brink by Nigeria, resembling more tactical awareness and skill than the acclaimed South Americans led by arguably the best player to have ever played the game of soccer, Lionel Messi. With the scores tied, Nigeria guaranteed qualification and with five minutes left on the clock, the dreaded lack experience manifested itself. Marcos Rojo latched onto a cross and fired the ball into the bottom corner. The Super Eagles had to succumb to another Argentina loss, a fifth in five World Cup meetings. This time, the loss was definitely not a tactical blunder or shortcomings in skill but that which I think is as a result of a lack of experience and the wherewithal needed to perform at the highest level. The collapse of concentration in the final moments of the match not only by Nigeria but by a  host of other African teams could vindicate me on this assertion.

What now for the Super Eagles?

It is no secret that in terms of talent, Nigeria can boast and say “we own it.” A generation of brilliant midfielders in the form of the 21-year-old 2017/18 top English Premier League tackler, Wilfred Ndidi, the versatile Etebo, young forwards in Iheanacho and Alex Iwobi as well as the 19-year-old goalkeeper, Francis Uzoho, exemplify the array of talent Nigeria possesses. Not to mention Arsenal’s Kelechi Nwakali and the likes, Moses Simon who didn’t make it to Russia, shows that Nigeria has the right mix of youth and experience - I think it’s all about blending it well. It is obviously easier said than done but here is my short letter to the Nigeria footballing community containing fast-five bulleted notes:

1. Hire a local head coach who builds the team from within the country not relying on foreign-based players who take longer to form team chemistry

2. Schedule a lot of international friendlies to gain exposure

3. Soccer is a team sport, build teams and do not bank on individual talents

4. Invest in the growth of local football systems by improving local leagues

5. If you have to use juju, please do if it will stimulate an ever ending desire and character to win.

Super Eagles, thank you for fighting as hard as you could. We wish you all the best in the future.

FT World Cup 2018: Live From Russia - Messi vs Iceland

I don’t think my fanatical appreciation of Lionel Messi appears as a surprise to anyone in my immediate life at this point. When it comes to athletes, I have a high level of respect for plenty, but only a couple would really make me feel some type of way if I met them in real life. The list goes Lionel Messi, Serena Williams, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (who I actually got to see him during the Mexico 🇲🇽 vs Germany 🇩🇪 game, and lost it for a good 30 seconds).

Like many football fans, i’ve been in awe of Messi since he was 17-18, breaking onto the scene with a then, Ronaldinho-led Barcelona squad after a ridiculously dominant U-17 World Cup performance with Argentina. I’ve watched his squad number change from 30, to 19, to the eventual legendary 10 he now effortlessly dons today. I’ve watched him take the torch from Ronaldinho and grow into the best player in the world, gifting two separate coaches Treble honors with the Catalan club (Pep Guardiola and Luis Enrique). I even have gotten to witness him live during a football trip of my own to Barcelona with The Ohio State University’s Men’s Soccer team in 2010. But June 16th 2018 would mark my first time seeing Messi in live action for his nation Argentina. Admittedly, being a childhood Brazil 🇧🇷 fan, I more or less loathe Argentina 🇦🇷. I am in no way a stranger to rooting against them, but am definitely unfamiliar with the notion of rooting for them. Tel est le pouvoir de Lionel Messi. Similar to LeBron James in the NBA Finals, knowing the battle that lies ahead of him whilst considering who is at his side going to battle with him, these GOAT-level players are enjoying a certain level of empathy they may never have received until this unique juncture in their respective careers.

“Oh lawd I can’t wait to see Messi embarrass someone today” I thought at breakfast. 2010 feels like so long ago, and I was too hype to see Messi boss the game in only a manner he knows how (more on this shortly). Who would his victims be you ask? Iceland. Iceland 🇮🇸are definitely a nation that are just happy to have been a part of the tournament, but similar to South Korea 🇰🇷, they were about to embark on a World Cup group stage performance from both players and fans that would earn them much deserved respect in the footballing world. Watching the team warm up, one thing was clear to me. Argentina will

not have it easy. From the blow of the first whistle, everyone and their mum could see Iceland were not only up for the fight, they were prepared for it. Their tactics seemed to be relentless pressure supported by the tactical acumen and maturity to surround Lionel with multiple bodies in the midfield, while allowing him to find his teammates who were then placed in situations where they were being dared to be the decisive ones instead of Messi. Definitely a gamble, but a rewarding one if your team possesses the fitness and discipline to carry this out for 90 minutes.

Argentina struck early in the game through Sergio “Kun” Aguero in the 19th minute. Even though La Albiceleste were 1-0 up, there was a certain calm amongst the Icelandic players. They didn’t panic or abandon their tactics and were rewarded with an equalizing goal in the 23rd, within the infamous “first five minutes” after a team scored a goal but is the most prone to mistakes due to a momentary lapse in focus. Iceland striker Finnbogason found himself in the right place and the right time in Argentina’s box to tuck in Iceland’s first ever World Cup goal at the expense of Messi and Co. As you all know by now, both teams went into the break level and Messi once again failed to convert a potential game winning penalty kick, something he has done 4 out the last 7 times he has attempted a pk for club or country. The rest of the game would go on to be an all too similar narrative for Argentina during the Messi era as none of his teammates looked to be able to conjure up genuine scoring chances in a match that begged them to. Iceland ended with a tie, a much deserved one at that, and Argentina were already thrust on the back foot for the tournament. After all was said and done during the matchday, two things really stood out to your boy.

One. This Messi guy really is a genius. By far the smartest footballer I have witnessed play. Yes you can see this when you watch his matches on television, but the experience is heightened in live time. Even in a game where he may have let down a lot of spoiled Argentinian fans (yeah I said it), he was still playing at a speed and frequency separate from everyone else on the pitch, including his teammates. Which is why I think Portugal have done a much better job supporting their own GOAT Cristiano Ronaldo in my opinion. It was pretty breathtaking watching a player who was quadruply marked at times, continue to lose defenders and create space and opportunities for himself and teammates. Even those in Spartak Stadium who were rooting against him were given plenty of moments where their trolling was legitimately replaced with a gasp at something Messi did to impact the game. This leads me to my second thing that stood out to me.

My fellow Brazil fans. Why were there Brazil fans at this match between Argentina and Iceland you ask? Because that’s how deep the rivalry goes. Yeah yeah I know El Clasico turns everyone on these days, but Brazil vs Argentina is my favorite in football, only further confirmed today. Brazil fans are fully aware of Argentina’s seeming and recent propensity to choke in international competition and were genuinely excited at the chance embarrassment of Argentina during their tournament opener. For the 90 minutes in their entirety, the Brazilians taunted Messi and the stadium full of Argentina fans after every time he lost the ball or one of his teammates failed to do anything with it once Messi passed it to them. Iceland may have gotten the result, but no one left Spartak happier than the Brazilians.

Overall, a Messi goal would have been great, but I was more than satisfied with the match, having gotten to witness with my brother and family in what was our second out of six games scheduled to be seen live in Moscow. Thank you Iceland for the performance and the Thunder Clap. Onto the next one!

Countdown to Russia 2018

The buzz of the World’s most popular soccer tournament has already started with only a century of sleeps left before the tournament commences as the hosts, Russia face Saudi Arabia in a match from Group A. Talk has already begun on who looks set to get a call up to the squads. Fringe players have started to mount pressure on their managers and those that were not happy with their clubs have already pushed for moves in the January transfer window. England fans are already dreaming of winning the tournament which has evaded them for the longest time. About 16 teams from the 32 that are competing in this year’s World Cup have already released their kits. What about the famous VAR? Is this technology ready to be implemented in such a tournament?