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Nigeria’s continued disregard for, perhaps, its most important position could eventually become a hindrance.
The release of the roster for Nigeria’s internationals is often met with raised eyebrows at the seeming lopsided structure of the selection, and it was no different for the doubleheader with Guinea-Bissau.
Jose Peseiro’s squad included eight defenders and as many forwards, while the standard three goalkeepers were named. The midfield, though, resurrected old questions.
Nigeria would be expected to navigate what ostensibly appears to be a straightforward pair of games with Guinea-Bissau with only four midfielders: Wilfred Ndidi, Alex Iwobi, Frank Onyeka and Joe Aribo.
That immediately brings doubts regarding Peseiro’s thinking and whether this is the norm from now on, as there is a dearth of bodies in what is possibly the team’s most essential component. At the same time, the profile of the invited players and their unique club situations further adds to the discontent.
Ndidi is the only recognised defensive midfielder in the squad, and even though this would have been acceptable previously, the anchorman’s drop-off must be a concern.
The Leicester City midfielder’s stock has undoubtedly fallen in the last 18 to 24 months, where injuries have seen one of the Premier League’s first-rate players in his position essentially lose his place in Brendan Rodgers’s team.
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Having missed six games in the 2019-20 season, according to Transfermarkt, that number more than doubled the following year, when the 26-year-old was absent for 17 matches altogether due to an abductor muscle tear and a thigh injury.
Another 17 matches were missed last season because of knee struggles, and the ongoing campaign has seen the ex-Genk man start just 12 times all season, with intermittent lay-offs continuing unabated.
Muscle injury to keep Ndidi out for weeks
With no direct replacement for Ndidi in the current squad, Peseiro may look to Onyeka to deputise if the Leicester man suffers any setback, even if the Brentford man’s shortage of game time makes his inclusion hard to understand.
The 25-year-old has been on the pitch for just 61 minutes in the New Year after recovering from the injury that kept him out since the post-World Cup restart, featuring against relegation-threatened Everton and Southampton this month.
That said, participation in 21 percent of Brentford’s league games — with 15 percent of those coming as a starter — is instructive and additionally adds to the questions regarding the ex-Midtjylland player’s presence in the group.
An even bigger head-scratcher is the inclusion of Aribo. Even though the Southampton man has amassed more match action than Onyeka in 2022-23, his non-involvement for the Saints’ first team in over a month is concerning.
Aribo’s most recent Premier League appearance was an 11-minute cameo against Wolverhampton Wanderers in February. Preceding that was a 26-minute appearance in a 1-0 home defeat by Nottingham Forest at the start of January, taking him to 37 league minutes in 2023.
Not only does Peseiro’s list comprise a shortage of midfield options, but it also contains a cadre of rusty personnel not named Iwobi.
This immediately brings up questions about possible combinations in the middle, with the Everton man likely guaranteed a spot in midfield. A pairing with Aribo may never resurface again, especially after a failed trial in the first half of their Africa Cup of Nations qualifying game with Sierra Leone in June 2022.
Iwobi and the Southampton man were outnumbered by the Leone Stars’ midfield three, leading to the introduction of Oghenekaro Etebo for striker Umar Sadiq at the interlude, causing a shift to a 4-3-3 after the break.
Interestingly, a 4-4-2 was retained for the 10-0 thrashing of Sao Tome and Principe, with Etebo replacing Aribo in the middle for Peseiro’s second competitive game in charge of the three-time African champions.
Iwobi remained a mainstay since, playing along with Onyeka in the 2-1 loss against Algeria in September last year before Ndidi partnered the ex-Arsenal man in the 4-0 thrashing by Portugal two months later.
No Ronaldo, no problem as Fernandes-inspired Portugal humiliate Super Eagles in Lisbon
The expectation for Friday’s meeting with Guinea-Bissau is the Leicester anchorman partnering the versatile Everton midfielder in the middle, even though there are reservations about the sustainability of that pairing and the broader tactical issues with Peseiro’s preferred 4-4-2.
An inclination for a two-player attack is probably an upshot of the Super Eagles’ surfeit of striking options, but this has come at the detriment of midfield balance.
Overabundance of strikers harms Nigeria's AFCON 2023 chances
Previous squads under the ex-Venezuela trainer underscored this imbalance, with four midfielders included in the roster that played Algeria last September, while the group that lost 4-0 against Portugal comprised five players in that position.
Be that as it may, this is an inherited problem for the Portuguese boss, with previous squads before his appointment in mid-May 2022 featuring an overabundance of defenders and forwards at the expense of a multifaceted midfield.
Much has been said about the nation’s surplus of goalscoring talent, but the continued neglect of a more vital component could mar the Super Eagles’ AFCON chances.
It is a trap previous managers fell into, and one Peseiro must avoid, even if the initial signs suggest otherwise.
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