The Boys ate Rohr Eagles tonight
So, now that we know Nigeria are not going to win the World Cup, let’s get down to understanding what went wrong with Rohr’s side in Uyo vs South Africa.
First of all, let me just say I think this was a very necessary reality check. A shame it had to come against South Africa, but now we are no longer under any illusions as to where we are.
Rohr is clearly trying for a younger team. What he had managed to do, up until this loss in Uyo, was to strike a balance. Here, the team skewed too markedly toward youth. While some of it was beyond his control, it was more hubris that undid him — perhaps believing too much in his own alchemical abilities. Those whose kernels have been cracked by benevolent spirits should not forget to be humble, Achebe memorably wrote.
Getting right to the game itself, it was clear there would be problems from the first mooting of Chidozie Awaziem starting at right-back. Now, the youngster is a player I like — I wrote this profile on him last year — but he is 20, has spent the past season playing in the Porto reserve side, and was yet to make a competitive senior appearance at international level.
Also, in the absence of Leon Balogun, it was crucial to get some experience alongside William Troost-Ekong, a brief that Kenneth Omeruo could have fulfilled. The worry over his last encounter with Rantie conveniently ignored two factors: (i) he was unfit for that game, and had to be rushed back, and (ii) having faced Rantie before, he would know what to expect, and would be wiser to it.
Apparently, Rohr figured differently.
I was also surprised to see the configuration in midfield. Onazi, Ndidi and Etebo together is a weird way to compose a midfield: none is a great passer of the ball, and all three could broadly do the same job (Etebo is the more attacking of the trio though). The one truly great passer in the team — John Ogu — was left out of the matchday squad altogether. How then had Rohr decided this was his optimum set-up in the middle of the park, at home against a team that would likely sit back and look to play on the break?
Predictably, both Alex Iwobi and Kelechi Iheanacho struggled to get into the game. The former is not a magician; the latter is not Pippo Inzaghi. And even Inzaghi had Pirlo and Kaka to slip him in.
TACTICS
South Africa set up with two very compact banks of four, and played narrow; in many ways, it was similar to the last time they came to Uyo. On that day, Nigeria fielded Efe Ambrose — a centre-back, and Juwon Oshaniwa at full-back, neither of whom were able to get forward on the overlap.
Here, there was a bit of surprise for Stuart Baxter as Shehu took up some interesting positions wide, and combined well with Simon in the opening stages. Keagan Dolly had started on the left, but was then instructed to move into the number 10 position, and Sibusiso Vilakazi, a more diligent worker, did a better job tracking Shehu. The less said about Echiejile on the other flank, the better.
There was very little space in between the lines of defence and midfield, and so Iwobi played much wider than usual, and was unable to get involved in dangerous areas. With no controller to draw Bafana out of their shape, balls were constantly overhit for Iheanacho to chase.
South Africa were brilliant, but not perfect. If there is one area where Nigeria were really good, it was in pressing the ball in midfield. Etebo, in particular, was great at forcing turnovers, as was Ndidi. When they won the ball like this, Nigeria looked most threatening. Once, Etebo almost set Iheanacho away; on another occasion, Khune just about beat the Manchester City man to a through ball; and on yet another, Etebo chose the wrong pass.
MORE BAD ROHR CHOICES
The decision to take off Iwobi was understandable. The Arsenal man could not get into the game, and Rohr must have realised not having more varied midfield options was a mistake.
But why, oh why, did he take off Iheanacho?
The logic was terrible. All game, Nigeria had struggled to get numbers forward. How would a like-for-like swap change that? Even more alarming, why take off the one player who could decisively put away a loose ball in the box late in the game?
Olanrewaju Kayode is also arguably better suited to the style of forward that Nigeria’s play warranted today: someone with real mobility to chase down loose balls.
CONCLUSION
Clearly, Rohr made three errors: he underrated South Africa, overrated his own “Midas touch”, and was unable to respond to the unfolding of the game tactically.
There are five games and 15 points still to play for though, but blowing a home game at the very start is not exactly encouraging, especially with trips to Libya (Egypt?) and South Africa to come. Is the Cup of Nations too mainstream for us now?
