Int’l Friendly: Nigeria, England meet at Wembley
Nigeria and England’s World Cup 2018 preparations continue in earnest as Gernot Rohr and Gareth Southgate clash in friendly game on Saturday at Wembley.
Having named his provisional 23-man squad for this summer’s finals in Russia, Southgate will be under pressure to impress in England’s final home game at the national stadium before the tournament.
Southgate will be confident of a win with a talented young squad following a pain-free qualification process, but the Super Eagles will want to make a statement with a promising squad of their own.
A lacklustre Nigeria were held to a 1-1 draw by the Democratic Republic of Congo in Port Harcourt on Monday, with William Troost-Ekong’s opener cancelled out by Ben Malango’s penalty.
The game served as both a send-off for the Eagles and as a valuable opportunity for Gernot Rohr to assess some of his peripheral options albeit on a rather bumpy pitch.
Simeon Nwankwo and Junior Lokosa were handed international debuts in attack, and it was the former who impressed and came closest to opening his account, firing an effort against the woodwork in the third minute.
Head-to-Head
The Super Eagles of Nigeria and England have met two times with England securing a win, and the other ending in a draw.
The first meeting between both countries was in 1994 – a friendly game played inside Wembley Stadium which England won 1-0.
David Platt scored the only goal of the game with a header off a free kick.
At the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Nigeria and England were drawn in the same group that also had Argentina and Sweden.
After 90 minutes, both countries settled for a 0-0 draw with England qualifying for the Round of 16, while the Eagles crashed out.
England squad
Butland (Stoke), Pickford (Everton), Pope (Burnley); Jones (Man Utd), Cahill (Chelsea), Walker (Man City), Trippier (Tottenham), Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Rose (Tottenham), Young (Man Utd), Stones (Man City), Maguire (Leicester); Dier (Tottenham), Henderson (Liverpool), Delph (Man City), Loftus-Cheek (Chelsea), Lingard (Man Utd), Alli (Tottenham); Kane (Tottenham), Rashford (Man Utd), Vardy (Leicester), Sterling (Man City), Welbeck (Arsenal).
Nigeria squad
Goalkeepers: Ikechukwu Ezenwa (Enyimba FC), Francis Uzoho (Deportivo La Coruna, Spain), Daniel Akpeyi (Chippa United, South Africa), Dele Ajiboye (Plateau United).
Defenders: Abdullahi Shehu (Bursaspor FC, Turkey), Tyronne Ebuehi (Ado Den Haag, The Netherlands), Olaoluwa Aina (Hull City, England), Elderson Echiejile (Cercle Brugge KSV, Belgium), Brian Idowu (Amkar Perm, Russia), Chidozie Awaziem (Nantes FC, France), William Ekong (Bursaspor FC, Turkey), Leon Balogun (FSV Mainz 05, Germany), Kenneth Omeruo (Kasimpasa FC, Turkey), Stephen Eze (Lokomotiv Plovdiv, Bulgaria).
Midfielders: John Obi Mikel (Tianjin Teda, China), Ogenyi Onazi (Trabzonspor FC, Turkey), Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester City, England), Oghenekaro Etebo (UD Las Palmas, Spain), John Ogu (Hapoel Be’er Sheva, Israel), Uche Agbo (Standard Liege, Belgium), Joel Obi (Torino FC, Italy), Mikel Agu (Bursaspor FC, Turkey).
Forwards: Ahmed Musa (CSKA Moscow, Russia), Kelechi Iheanacho (Leicester City, England), Moses Simon (KAA Gent, Belgium), Victor Moses (Chelsea FC, England), Odion Ighalo (Changchun Yatai, China), Alex Iwobi (Arsenal FC, England), Nwankwo Simeon (Crotone FC, Italy), Junior Lokosa (Kano Pillars).
How Eagles rated Vs DR Congo
Francis Uzoho 7/10: The young goalkeeper looked solid in goal and made three brilliant saves in the game.
Tyronne Ebuehi 6/10: Was lively early in the game but fizzled out later. He did enough to prove he can give regular right-back Shehu Abdullahi proper competition.
William Troost-Ekong 7/10: Scored his side’s first goal of the game. The Bursaspor of Turkey centre-back was impressive and coped well with the Congolese forwards.
Leon Balogun 6/10: Missed a good chance of registering a goal from a corner kick in the second half. Had a difficult time stopping the dangerous Benik Afobe.
Elderson Echiejile 5/10: Average performance from the left-back who was duly hauled off after the break.
Joel Obi 5/10: The Torino midfielder didn’t make much impact in the game, but showed flashes of brilliance. His chances of a berth in final squad have not been enhanced.
Ogenyi Onazi 5/10: An average performance from the stand-in captain who failed to replicate his impressive past showings for the Super Eagles.
Kelechi Iheanacho 6/10: Started the game brightly but somehow struggled afterwards. He set up his side’s only goal. He was substituted after the break.
Oghenekaro Etebo 6/10: Full of running in the middle of the park and showed his versatility by playing on the left side of the attack later in the game.
Junior Lokosa 7/10: Played in an unfamiliar right-wing position and showed some promise. He did his chances no harm.
Simeon Nwankwo 8/10: The Crotone of Italy forward came close to scoring twice in the game and showed good skills on the ball. He lacked good service but imposed himself on the game.
Substitutes
Mikel Agu 5/10: Came in for Joel Obi after the break and didn’t make much impact following his introduction.
Ola Aina 5/10: The half time substitute made forays upfront unlike the man he replaced, Elderson Echiejile but was unlucky to concede the penalty that led to the Congolese equalising goal.
Kenneth Omeruo 5/10: Came in Leon Balogun did his best to help stabilize the defence which looked shaky for majority of the game.
Ahmed Musa 5/10: Looked lively after coming in for Junior Lokosa 20 minutes from the end.
Shehu Abdullahi 5/10: Didn’t spend enough time on the pitch to affect the game positively.
International Friendlies
Kuwait 1 – 1 Egypt
China 1 – 0 Myanmar
Madagascar 2 – 1 Mozambique
Cameroon 0 – 1 B/Faso
Comoros 1 – 1 Seychelles
Niger 3 – 3 C.A/Republic
S/Korea 2 – 0 Honduras
Kenya 1 – 0 E/Guinea
Botswana 2 – 1 Angola
Bosnia/H 0 – 0 Montenegro
Nigeria 1 – 1 DR Congo
Mauritius 1 – 0 Malawi
Turkey 2 – 1 Iran
Italy 2 – 1 S/Arabia
Portugal 2 – 2 Tunisia
France 2 – 0 Ireland
USA 3 – 0 Bolivia
Mexico 0 – 0 Wales
Mozambique 3 – 0 Comoros
Azerbaijan 3 – 0 Kyrgyzstan
Malta 1 – 1 Armenia
Seychelles 1 – 1 Madagascar
Kosovo 3 – 0 Albania
Argentina 4 – 0 Haiti
Peru 2 – 0 Scotland
Panama 0 – 0 N.Ireland
