Analysis: England 2–1 Nigeria
I have a theory, friends and neighbours.
If someone makes a mess of the avoidable variety, and then proceeds to salvage said mess to some degree, it does not seem to me that the individual in question should be due marked praise for that. Maybe I’m just grumpy — the grinch stealing Christmas over and over again. It’s a bum job, but someone has got to do it, yes?
We are talking, of course, about Gernot Rohr. That should’ve been quite obvious, but you know what they say about ass-u-me… So, let’s take a look at how it all went, shall we?
SHAPES
Rohr hinted in the build-up to the game that he would field his strongest side, and he did just so, in his trusty 4–2–3–1. Wilfred Ndidi was absent through injury, and so Joel Obi took his place alongside Ogenyi Onazi. Brian Idowu started at left-back.
Gareth Southgate went with his expected shape, a 3–1–4–2, with Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling starting together upfront. Eric Dier played just in front of the defence, the position usually owned by Jordan Henderson, who only last weekend played in the Champions League final.
ANALYSIS
A back three is difficult to press, and the presence of Dier in the holding role at the base of midfield offered England the perfect angles to play around whatever pressing scheme Rohr devised for this game. I say “whatever” because there really didn’t seem to be any coordination to it at all.
Aside the easy 4v2 advantage which the Three Lions enjoyed in their build-up, there was also the roles and positions of Jesse Lingard and Dele Alli. As Dier constantly received with time to turn and play forward, both positioned themselves on the outside of the holding midfielders Onazi and Obi.
This presented a quandary for Alex Iwobi and Victor Moses, who needed to prevent England’s outside centre-backs from accessing that passing lane, and so sat narrow and could not logically track the wing-backs. Kieran Tripper and Ashley Young were constantly the outlets, but the Manchester United man was the key player as, being right-footed, he could more easily find chipped passes into the half-space for either Alli or Sterling.
Allied to that was the splendid play of Kane, who dropped off from his forward position to take advantage of the strain Alli and Lingard were subjecting the midfield to.
It was a miracle that England went in at the break only two goals ahead.
Rohr immediately altered it at half time, and went to a back three. John Ogu came on and slotted in on the left side of the defence, while Tyronne Ebuehi, Oghenekaro Etebo and Kenneth Omeruo also entered the fray. Now, there was natural cover in the half-spaces, a spare man at the back, and Alex Iwobi went into a central position in midfield.
Crucially, the switch meant Ebuehi and Idowu could play closer to England’s wing-backs, and the Benfica youngster’s superior athleticism droveYoung backward.
This enabled the Super Eagles come back into the game, although by mirroring England’s shape, the players with the most freedom were now the deep midfielders — quite why it was Etebo and not Mikel, with his greater passing range, who slotted in in front of the defence is bizarre. He and Etebo seemed to each be playing a role better suited to the other person.
THOUGHTS
— On the eve of the game, while looking at England’s starting formation, I tweeted the above. It was frustrating then to watch the Super Eagles toil and labour, seemingly oblivious to how their opponents play. Many (Mikel, most notably, in a gushing Guardian interview) have praised Rohr for his thoroughness, but for the third friendly since qualifying, the team has looked stumped in the first half of games, not sure how to match up against their opponents at all. It’s Esau’s hairy hand alright, but not his voice…
So, by all means, one can praise Rohr for the switch at half-time. But, by that point, the team was two goals down, and arguably should have let in more but for England’s profligacy. Not sure the German will always have the luxury of pulling a rabbit out of the hat at half-time. He absolutely needs to get it right the first time. If his continued failure to do so does not bother you yet, you’re a better person than me, and my own hat (sans furry rodent) is off to you.
— Poor Joel Obi. In the interest of full disclosure, I like him. We all have our biases, and that is one of mine. However, even I would not be overly put out if Rohr decides he has seen enough, and cuts him. There is, however, something that should be set straight.
The first is that, while he is not the same player he was seven years ago (who is?), he is not a bad footballer. It may not mean anything, but I feel it is important to make that distinction. Watch him play at Torino, and he has more than earned his place here in the camp. What is clear (to me, at least), is that he looks lost. Witness, as an indicator, how often he gets in his own teammates’ way. He did it multiple times against Congo DR, and here he collided quite nastily with Balogun, before putting off Brian Idowu in an interesting attack. He is so often in the way because he really has not learnt how the moving parts of this team clank together.
With more time on the training pitch with them, he could improve immeasurably. However, as I said, even I acknowledge that, on the strength of his showings, Rohr would not be unjustified in dropping him.
— Is it not funny, how that the Super Eagles always struggle to build up play, while the best midfield passer in the team is stationed some forty yards away, and the second best midfield passer is tethered to the bench?
Many rightly pointed out how big of a miss Ndidi was at Wembley. I agree with that. I also posit that a midfield of Onazi and Ndidi would have encountered similar problems in possession. As evidence, I direct you to watch every game in which we have started with that double pivot.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, my goldfish is thirsty.
