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The Super Eagles of Nigeria suffered a disappointing 2-0 defeat to Guinea in Abu Dhabi and here are three reasons it happened.
The Super Eagles of Nigeria fell to a 2-0 defeat to Guinea in their final preparatory match before the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast.
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12:57 - 08.01.2024
As it happened: Super Eagles disappoint Nigerians again with 2-0 defeat to Guinea
Follow the action as the Super Eagles of Nigeria begin their AFCON 2023 preparation with a 2-0 defeat against Guinea in Abu Dhabi.
The friendly game at the Bani Yas Stadium in Abu Dhabi was decided in Guinea's favour by two goals in either half by Aguibou Camara and Facinet Conte.
Of course, the Super Eagles' result has led to an uproar among Nigerians with pessimism at an all-time high on the nation's chances ahead of the upcoming AFCON.
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15:20 - 08.01.2024
Super Eagles 0-2 Guinea: Nigerians give up on 4th AFCON after friendly loss
After a friendly defeat to Guinea, which follows Lesotho and Zimbabwe draws, Nigerians have given up on Super Eagles AFCON hopes.
The upset of a result in Abu Dhabi could be attributed to a number of reasons but this piece narrows it down to three reasons why Nigeria lost to Guinea.
3 reasons the Super Eagles lost 2-0 to Guinea
1. Jose Peseiro lined up a weak squad
Nigeria lined up with a much weaker squad than expected for this game against Guinea, including two debuts for goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali and Alhassan Yusuf in midfield.
Jose Peseiro set up the team in an entirely different way than what we have become used to in his strenuous tenure so far, with five defenders starting the game.
Bright Osayi-Samuel and Zaidu Sanusi were the full-backs/wing-backs in this one while Kenneth Omeruo, Chidozie Awaziem and captain William Troost-Ekong lined up as the centre-backs.
Alhassan Yusuf starting in midfield on his debut alongside Raphael Onyedika was also quite unusual as Peseiro would typically prefer experience in these areas.
Starting Umar Sadiq over Victor Osimhen was another indication that this was not an important game from Peseiro's perspective and the result proved that.
2. The Super Eagles failed to convert chances
Despite the weak lineup, Nigeria still played quite well which was lost on the general public because the game was not televised so everyone is reacting exclusively to the scoreline.
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The Super Eagles created a good number of chances including a 20th-minute penalty which was missed by Moses Simon as the Nantes winger was denied by the Guinean goalkeeper.
Uma Sadiq also had his fair share of chances which he should have scored but the biggest chance fell to Samuel Chukwueze who hit the woodwork from point-blank range.
This also ties into the first reason and makes one wonder if the actual starters would have converted these chances, it is hard to envision Osimhen missing some of these chances that Sadiq missed.
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3. Guinea had a great strategy
Ultimately, all credit for the result must go to Guinea as Syli Nationale came into this one with a very good game plan, one which Nigeria's AFCON opponents might be forced to adopt.
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The Super Eagles had most of the ball but Guinea's game was built on effective counter-attacking through which they scored twice, catching Nigeria lacking.
The Guineans did a great job limiting Nigeria's spaces in wide areas as they were aware of the Super Eagles' inability to create from central areas.
That led to the result and the uproar that followed but it is worth noting that this was just a friendly match and Nigeria can be expected to play better at the tournament proper.
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