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The Super Eagles of Nigeria, yesterday, drew 2-2 with the Syli Stars of Guinea in a game the Eagles were supposed to win. ?They lived up to the ugly ‘super chickens’ tag by failing to step up to the occasion.Here are five reasons why the Super Eagles were simply not good enough for the Nations Cup:
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1.Dele Aiyenugba was a complete disaster. ?Chances for the Guineans were few and far between, but they were overall effective, but when Aiyenugba was tested he failed miserably. Most Nigerians were of the opinion that Coach Siasia should have forgiven Vincent Enyeama and invited him, as well as given the importance of the game, but could Enyeama have done better? We may never know, but Aiyenugba has shown he is not good enough to be the first choice keeper of the Eagles.
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2.Even though the Super Eagles had abundance of talent in attack, it seemed the strikers left their shooting boots at home. Emmanuel Emenike and Osaze Odemwingie were the ?culprits. Osaze put out, arguably, his worst performance in a Super Eagles shirt.Coming back after his suspension from the team, many football fans had hoped Osaze would ?show Nigerians what they missed, but he turned in an uninspiring performance .Many Nigerians will be wondering why Siasia started Emenike ahead of Ike Uche. Emenike did nothing worthy of note in the entire 90 minutes and will be remembered for his one-on-one miss in the first half, which could have boosted the Eagles’ confidence.?
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3.Coach Samson Siasia got his tactics completely wrong in this game. The absence of ?a holding midfielder completely left the midfield exposed. Siasia opted to start with four attackers: Osaze,Obasi,Nsofor and Emenike, but the gamble didn’t pay off against the Guineans who played a five-man midfield. The midfield duo of Mikel and Joel looked out of sorts in the game, especially, when the Guineans came calling. There was no one to do the dirty job in the midfield. Etuhu or Sani Kaita would have added some steel and balance to the midfield. Going by the mood and reactions of fans after the game, Samson Siasia may well start looking for another job.
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4.The defence of the Eagles, though not tested for the better part of the game, was caught napping on several occasions. Captain Joseph Yobo who had been fantastic for Nigeria in the last two Nations Cup qualifiers and popping with important goals for the team failed to organise his defence, and it turned out to be the Achilles heels of the Super Eagles. Moreso, Coach Samson Siasia failed to work on this very important part of the team. Against Argentina, in an international friendly last month in Dhaka, the defence was completely exposed by the Argentines and though the Guineans lacked a world class striker, they were still able to cause the defence some problems.
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5.The overall play of the Eagles was simply not good enough. Many Nigerians expected ?the Eagles to show their intent from the very first minute, but they played as if nothing was at stake.Mikel started the game brightly, but faded as the game went on. He failed to stamp his authority in the game and the Eagles only woke up from their slumber after the Guineans had gone ahead. There was no urgency in the play of the Eagles.It was expected that things would change after the first half,but it was business as usual, as they failed to string passes correctly. Overall, it was a performance to forget.
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