Player Rating: Nigeria vs. Spain

Some of us had ruled out any chance of making it through to the semis since the blow of final whistle in the match against Uruguay, but Nigerians, known to be incurable optimists, gave them a chance. Well, none of the two permutations came to pass: Spain put three past us, Uruguay pummeled Tahiti. And out the Eagles found themselves.

Yet, the match against Spain wasn’t an entirely bad game for the Eagles, the embarrassing scoreline notwithstanding.

How Eagles performed versus Spain:

1, Enyeama: Saved us from what could have been a monumental embarrassment as, but for him, Eagles could have conceded up to six. Decent game, although he could have also done better stopping one the goals 6/10

2, Echiejile: Our left back had an average game, although he was outrun and beaten on few occasions by Spanish trademark square-passing. I think he has convinced me that he’s as good as, perhaps better than, Taiye Taiwo, although for competition sake, TT should also be recalled, even if as second choice in that wing. 5/10

3, Oboabona: The La Furia Rojers were too much for him. Caught in the middle of their effective short passes on many occasions, but he was still able to dispossess them of the ball a couple of times. Decent showing, although he could have done better in the first goal. 6/10

4, Kenneth Omeruo: Hard and business-minded as usual. Tough, yet professional tackling. He was having a decent game before he copped injury. 6/10

5, Ambrose: He didn’t overlap much in this match. Sometimes beaten by the swift-footed Spanish forward. 5/10

6, Ogude: Not much was seen of him. This one pass his hard tackles. Neatly rounded on an occasion by a Spanish midfielder I can’t recall. Had a quiet game, probably because of the style of the Spaniards. 4/10

7, Sunday Mba: Did decently to support Mikel in the midfield. He also made a fantastic run at goal before the close of first half. He soon fizzled out in second half and replaced with John Ogu. 6/10

8, Mikel: When you have Xavi and Iniesta as opposition’s midfielders, nobody will give you any chance of making any impact in the midfield. But Mikel actually did, even if the two midfield marshals still held grip of the centre. Mikel held his own against the two veterans. His passes were better than previous matches and reached destination. He exuded confidence remiscent of his under-20 days, making daring runs in the midfield, sometimes beating up to 3 Spanish players. Good game. But water pass garri. 8/10

9, Musa: He played more purposeful football in this match. He freed his Kano pillar former homeboy, Gambo Mohammed with a through pass on one occasion, after waltzing his way through Spanish left and centrebacks, but the Kano man, probably overwhelmed by the occasion , wasted what could have been a consolation goal for the Eagles. 7/10

10, Ideye: He needs to work on his first touch. By now, it is clear that he does better when he plays as a supporting striker, like he did at AFCON. 4.5/10

11, Akpala: He didn’t do much upfront. Ramos clipped his and Ideye’s clips and our lively occasions in front came from Musa in the wings. 4/10

SUBS

EGWUEKE: Thrown in for injured Omeruo. Against a star-studded Spain is not the best occasion a rookie will want to be tested, but Egwueke still managed to have an average game. He felt jittery, probably star-struck, initially but later came into the game. 5/10

GAMBO: That miss was unforgiveable. Honestly, I would have scored that goal. If in doubt ask the goal keepers at Ajah Harmony estate emirate stadium, where such goals are my trademark. 2/10

OGU: His game is similar to Mikel’s, kind of a poor man’s version of Mikel. He also tries distributing short passes. His style is quite different from his competitor, Mba’s. He has future with Eagles. 6/10

NEGATIVE VERSUS SPAIN: As African champions, a 1-0 or 2-1 loss would have been more honourable. It doesn’t matter that we are playing against World and European champions. But if Germany can whitewash a Messi-ful Argentina 4-1 in a world cup quarterfinal, then we have a precedent.

POSITIVE VERSUS SPAIN: Anyone noticed that we almost matched the Spaniards in possession? Not sure any other African team can do that. Well, maybe Egypt which also play free-flowing football. The scoreline only showed they had better finishers, not that they are thrice better result. That’s why I think a 1-0 or 2-1 would have been a better result.

OVERALL SCORECARD IN THIS TOURNAMENT: The Uruguay match was our best in my opinion, followed by Spain, then Tahiti. Our attack was poor. I still hold that we don’t need Osaze (off-field discipline is as important as on-field quality), but I think an IK Uche and Martins would have made difference. But kudos still to Keshi for giving Ujah, Akpala, Babatunde and Gambo a chance. It wasn’t a totally bad tournament, except our attacking flaws. With 3 points and +1 goal difference, Nigeria came 5th in this tournament, although that’s rather flattering, giving the fact we got the goals because we had whipping boys, Tahiti, in our group. Eagles should come back to Africa and continue to be continental champions. This team is going places.