1. It is not a Good Friday for the Eagles
This is one painful result for Samson Siasia and his boys. They were three minutes away from grabbing a famous 1-0 win against Egypt, only to concede a late, late goal.
2. Nigeria still stand a chance
It was not a totally disastrous performance by the Eagles. The Egyptians heavily relied on Mohamed Salah’s pace and invention on the break, which didn’t yield much throughout the game. Mohamed Elneny was silent, as John Mikel Obi put in an exemplary performance on his first outing as captain. If Siasia tweaks the team a bit, they might cause an upset in Alexandria on Tuesday.
3. A case for the defence
Let’s talk about Efe Ambrose. Let’s talk about his headless-chicken forrays into the opponents’ half and then dutifully giving away the ball. Let’s talk about the moment in the second half, when he was caught napping and the Eagles almost conceded. Shall we? No? Maybe his efforts were half measures, compared to Godfrey Oboabona affording Mohamed Salah the freedom of the Ahmadu Bello Stadium to equalize.
4. Iwobi, Iheanacho sparkle
It was Iheanacho’s deft left-footed shot that kissed the bar and came off for Oghenekaro Etebo to open scoring. And before he was bizarrely subbed off, the Manchester City man gave a good account of himself. Arsenal’s Alex Iwobi didn’t have as much time, but managed to divide the Egyptian Red Sea, with a pass made in the Emirates. And no, FA, you can’t get him anymore.
5. Kaduna fans
One must commend the Kaduna fans. A truly passionate, supportive bunch. By 2pm, the stadium was bursting at its seams. The only downside, was the sight of some supporters climbing up to watch their darling team. The security eprsonnel should have done better.
—————————– ‘Ifreke Inyang tweets via @Ifreke
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