By Toju Sote
Victor Osimhen is in great form at the club level and a lot of fans expected him to replicate that for the Super Eagles against Guinea-Bissau in the Afcon qualifying matches but he didn’t score over two legs. This post is an attempt to explain possible reasons why the striker failed to find the back of the net in over 180 minutes of football.
1) Napoli and Nigeria Difference
Osimhen is having a prolific season at Napoli so far with 21 goals and four assists in 23 Serie A games. Expectations were high that he would score a couple of goals against the Djurtus, but he failed to score any. The Napoli striker had a couple of chances in both legs but failed to bury any.
It is important to note that the Napoli setup is quite different from the Super Eagles. The highly creative Khvicha Kvaratskhelia who has the most assists in Serie A this term is a huge reason for Osimhen’s goals this season for Luciano Spalletti’s side this campaign. Neither Moses Simon nor Samuel Chukwueze created enough chances for the striker as both players suffered from a lack of decisiveness in the final third on both legs.
2) Guinea-Bissau were a stronger team than Imagined
The Super Eagles were expected to whitewash the Djurtus given that they are minnows in the African game yet they only garnered three points in two games against the opposition. The star-studded Super Eagles had six points in two games before playing the Djurtus and had no problem defeating Sierra Leone and Sao Tome and Principe. Guinea-Bissau is currently second in the Group and they haven’t lost to the other teams in the group apart from Nigeria. Only Egypt, Gabon and Morocco have defeated Guinea-Bissau in their past 14 games.
3) Osimhen Close Marking
With Victor Osimhen’s rising profile in world football, the Djurtus kept a close eye on Osimhen during the games and didn’t let him get very many clear, clear chances to score. Aside from Guinea-Bissau’s defensive formation, Osimhen was given particular attention from the opposition defenders.
4) Defensive Formation
Guinea-Bissau played a particularly defensive formation which limited good goalscoring opportunities for Osimhen and the Super Eagles. The Djurtus relied mainly on the counter-attacking style of play. Baciro Candé’s men set up in a 4-4-2 formation on paper but played a 4-5-1 without the ball in a bid to limit creative plays from Super Eagles midfield to attack.
5) Chukwueze’s lack of timely decision
The Villareal winger’s lack of timely decision in the final third contributed to not just Osimhen’s goal drought against Guinea-Bissau but also exposed how predictable he was. There were occasions where he could have passed the ball to full-back Bright Osayi-Samuel who could have squared the ball in for Osimhen or another attacking player in the box but he chose to shoot the ball off-target.
Victor Osimhen is no doubt the best striker in the team but he also needs to be patient. The goals will come if the wingers become more decisive around the opposition’s 18-yard box. The wingers must also improve on their crosses from set-pieces. The Super Eagles have two matches to go in the qualification series so the Napoli forward can look forward to scoring again for the team.
