Four Eagles expected to shine against the Chipolopolo
As Nigeria’s Super Eagles begin campaign to reach the next FIFA World Cup in Russia against Zambia today, here are five players expected to step up in order to hand Gernot Rohr’s side a vital victory against the Chipolopolo in Ndola.
Kelechi Iheanachothe Manchester City forward is currently the country’s most highly rated player. Last season he showed glimpses of his eye for goal and overall intelligence after being promoted to the Citizens senior team by former manager Manuel Pellegrini but the player seem to have shifted a gear this term with three goals and three assists in the EPL and the present manager Pep Guardiola calling him a very ‘quality’ that could only get better.
For Nigeria, he was drafted late into the team for the 2017 AFCON qualifiers and couldn’t do much to overturn Eagles fortunes but shown what would’ve been if he had begun the campaign with an amazing strike against Tanzania in the final game in Uyo.
As the team look forward to making their sixth Mundial appearance, Iheanacho is without doubt one of stars that will be expected to make a difference against the tough oppositions in group D which has Cameroun, Algeria and today’s foes.
Alex Iwobi- scored a brace in the final warm up game against NPFL side Plateau United in Abuja and declared afterwards how confident he feels regarding today’s match in Ndola.
Iwobi is also doing perfectly well with Arsenal where manager Arsene Wenger has shown immense faith in the player thrusting him into the starting line up at the end of last season with the player repaying the faith with some mesmerizing performances which has earned him a contract review and a pay rise.
With his superb technical abilities and his passion for link up plays which is no surprise considering he was schooled the ‘Arsenal’ way, the young forward has not only enough to contribute to Nigeria at the moment but more in years to come.
Moses Simon- According to insiders, Simon is set to replace out of form Ahmed Musa in the starting eleven for today’s encounter.
The Leicester City striker has failed to break into Claudio Ranieri’s first picks and it has surely affected his confidence as he got negative reviews during the training sessions in Abuja and also against Plateau United in the warm up friendly.
Moses, on the other hand, is a regular for Belgian side Gent and also comes in handy whenever Nigeria needs him. Eagles wont forget in a hurry the fact that he scored the vital goal against Swaziland that brought the team to this stage of the qualifiers.
He’s speed merchant with good dribbling abilities and not forgetting his set piece assets. Pundits are of the opinion that if Rohr uses Moses well then Eagles will definitely leave Ndola with all three points as he has a lot to give the team attacking wise.
Musa Mohammed- the Instanbul based player was the only one that got a special praise from Rohr after last month’s game against Tanzania. The right back’s ability to defend well and also link up well with the attacking players won him many fans after the last game.
A product of Manu Garba’s 2013 FIFA U17 World Cup winning side, Musa has shown a lot of promise in the last couple of years. Though the 2015 U20 Mundial didn’t go according to plan for him, his performance was still top notch and got a club in the top half of the Turkish top flight for those reasons.
As we look towards Russia 2018, defence will be key especially against fast paced Zambians, Musa will surely be among the men at the back expected to tighten things up and also initiate attack when necessary.