Jose Peseiro as Super Eagle The manager has not been without controversy. He has led the team to many defeats and had to choose from his original employer, former Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) president Amaju Pinnick, to the current one in Ibrahim Gusau.
Despite the fluctuations, one constant is Victor Osimhen’s effectiveness in front of goal, whether for club or country.
Between March 2022 and now, Osimhen has played 53 matches for Napoli and the Super Eagles, scoring 37 goals. He has five goals in his last four games for the Eagles, although he failed to find the net in the 2022 World Cup decider against Ghana last March.
His last game for the Super Eagles was a historic 10-0 win over São Tomé and Príncipe on June 13 at the Stade d’Agadir in Morocco, where he scored four goals and made two assists. In his absence, the Eagles played three friendly matches and scored just once, conceding eight goals.
The former U-17 World Cup winner could claim the tag of being the hottest striker in the world, barring Manchester City’s Erling Haaland, who has risen in value by an estimated $107 million, according to transfermarket.
Thus, he was the only one on the field on Friday when Nigeria faced Guinea Bissau in Abuja with almost half a win. Of course the coach of Guinea Bissau, Baciro Cande, will pay special attention to how to stop Osimhen. So, the common sense approach for Peseiro is to give the No.9 the platform he needs to wreak the havoc he wants.
Napoli’s tactical adaptation
The best football managers create strategies for the best players. Argentina have finally qualified for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, as Coach Lionel Scaloni gave Lionel Messi the support he needed to progress and succeed.
This is despite the fact that Messi has been a member of every unsuccessful Argentina World Cup team since 2010. The result was their first World Cup victory since 1986.
Which brings us to the main reason Osimhen is thriving and breaking barriers this season with Napoli.
Napoli manager Luciano Spalletti realized at the end of the 2021/22 season that some players, especially strikers like Dries Mertens and home captain Lorenzo Insigne, were good but took away from Osimhen, who was supposed to be the main attacking fulcrum.
Fast forward to the 2022/23 season, and Spalletti let go of Mertens, Insigne, and central tyro Fabian Ruiz. These three players all played an important role in the way Napoli played and scored 74 goals in the league.
Khvica Kvaratskhelia arrived and developed a symbiotic relationship with Osimhen and Napoli, who are now flying. They are top of the Serie A table, 19 points clear of second-placed Lazio. They have scored 64 goals in 27 league games, with Osimhen scoring 21 times; which is almost a third of all goals in the league.
We all know that the greatest form of praise is imitation, and this is Peseiro’s advice. Napoli have shown the template to make Osimhen almost unplayable and all Super Eagles managers need to find players who can support Osimhen in the same way.
Who can imitate Kvaratskhelia? Or Piotr Zielinski or Matteo Politano among the 23-man squad called for the two games against Guinea Bissau?
When we can say that personnel duplication can be simple because of the high quality, especially in the advanced part; the interpretation of finding space and playing quickly through the side of the central defender can be more difficult for players who choose to start there because they do not practice together enough as a unit.
Ademola Lookman has the skill, pace and goalscoring ability to start on the left of a three-man forward line, while Samuel Chukwueze could emulate Politano or Hirving Lozano.
The midfielders who will replace Stanislav Lobotka and Andre Zambo Anguissa will be the next puzzle for Peseiro to solve. This is especially important with the forward three as it will provide a supply line and energy to back up the forward press.
With Frank Onyeka still recovering from injury, Wilfred Ndidi is powerless to play in advanced areas for the Eagles. Due to his mobility, Alex Iwobi could play the role of Lobotka, meaning that Napoli’s 4-3-3 may have to be changed to 4-2-1-3 to accommodate the available players.
READ ALSO: AFCON Qualifiers: Osimhen arrives at Super Eagles camp before meeting Guinea Bissau
If Peseiro finishes, then victory against Guinea-Bissau is almost certain.
Goalkeeper: Francis Uzoho, Victor Sochima, Kingsley Aniagboso
Defender: Oluwasemilogo Ajayi, Bright Osayi-Samuel, Kevin Akpoguma, Kenneth Omeruo, Calvin Bassey, Daniel Bameyi, Zaidu Sanusi, Bruno Onyemaechi
Midfielder: Wilfred Ndidi, Frank Onyeka, Alex Iwobi, Joe Aribo
Advanced: Kelechi Iheanacho, Ahmed Musa, Samuel Chukwueze, Moses Simon, Ademola Lookman, Terem Moffi, Victor Osimhen and Paul Onuachu.
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