Nigeria

Nigeria met Zambia in the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations. The Super Eagles were favourites to progress against the lowest ranked side to reach the last 16 of this competition. Nigeria dominated possession in the first period, but Yakubu was isolated in attack and they demonstrated scant attacking imagination. Obasi and Odemwingie made little headway on their respective flanks while Mikel also failed to impose himself from his advanced central-midfield position. The only time Nigeria did threaten was on one of the rare occasions a full-back pushed forward. Following an assertive foray from Yusuf down the right, the ball eventually fell to Mikel outside the box: his firm shot was saved by the Zambian keeper Mweene. Despite Nigeria’s dominance, the best chance of the half fell to Zambia’s Chamanga following a cross from the left-flank, but he failed to make the necessary connection.

The same 4-2-3-1 approach was retained by Nigeria in the second-half when it appeared that a tactical adjustment might have been fruitful. Having contained Nigeria in the first-half, Zambia looked more settled and confident as the game progressed, but it felt as though extra-time and penalties were a certainty long before the 90 minutes were up. Although Zambia had the best chances to win the game, and threatened from a couple of corners, Nigeria’s defence was fairly secure throughout: Captain Joseph Yobo was absent, but Apam and Shittu provided a sound central defensive pairing, whilst left-back Echiejile was perhaps one of the liveliest members of a pretty inert bunch.

Obafemi Martins replaced Yakubu on the hour, but generally received the same degree of insubstantial service. Obinna was also introduced as a substitute and he threatened more than Obasi on the flank. In extra-time Nigeria did offer some fleeting flurries of attacking spirit. Odemwingie showcased a rare glimpse of his pace and won Nigeria’s first corner after 100 minutes of play. Mikel is similar to Ivory Coast’s Yaya Toure, in that they are both defensive midfielders for their club sides but take up a more attacking role at international level. Toure indicated that he is well equipped for this advanced role during this tournament, but Mikel was unconvincing in this game. The Chelsea player did belatedly indicate that he had something to offer though when he skilfully lifted a through-ball to Martins – but the forward struggled to gain the control required to fire a decent shot. A pedestrian and laboured game was finally decided on penalties, with Nigeria winning 5-4.

On the evidence presented in this game, Nigeria will struggle to make a significant impression in South Africa. They set up as a defensively secure unit and have the pace to hit teams on the counter-attack, but will face sterner tests than Zambia at the World Cup. However, it’s plausible that any team from Group B could make it to the quarter-finals as a result of a pretty uncompetitive draw.