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Which players impressed and which players were shaky in Nigeria's 2-1 win over Ghana
Nigeria's Super Eagles emerged victorious over fierce rivals, Ghana's Black Stars, in the Jollof derby, with a hard-fought 2-1 win.
Goals from Cyriel Dessers and super-sub Ademola Lookman helped kick-off the Finidi George era with Nigeria’s first win over Ghana since 2006.
With the Super Eagles claiming a deserving victory over Ghana, here are the best and worst players on the pitch during the 2-1 victory over the Black Stars
Player Ratings
Kelechi Iheanacho — 8
Easily the best player on the pitch for the Super Eagles. The Leicester City man opened up the Ghanaian defence severally with his direct running and incisive passes.
Iheanacho was key for both goals, helping to win the penalty before playing a part in setting up the second goal as well.
Wilfred Ndidi — 7
Every step WIlfred Ndidi took showed how much the Super Eagles missed the Leicester midfielder at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
Ndidi was excellent on the ball and showed a composure in the middle of the park that was sorely lacking.
Alex Iwobi — 7
Freed of the shackles of playing in a midfield pairing, Alex Iwobi was dominant and creative playing as a roaming midfielder.
The Fulham midfielder plugged holes all over the pitch, dropping deep at times to help the build up and also arriving late the box to cause a threat to the Ghanaian goal.
Stanley Nwabali — 6
Was scarcely threatened in goal but still did well to repel a Jordan Ayew header early in the second half. He was most impressive with his feet as the Super Eagles used him as an outlet to play out of the back.
Chidozie Awaziem — 6
Solid defensively and helped start a number of attacks with his pin-point passing and comfort on the ball. Awaziem’s deployment at centre-back was full of positives as the Boavista man hardly put a foot wrong.
Semi Ajayi — 6
Ajayi was also superb in defence for the Super Eagles, and his strength on and off the ball were important for stifling the majority of Ghana’s attacks.
Frank Onyeka — 6
Frank Onyeka was solid if unspectacular for the Super Eagles, but this is exactly what his job description entails.
Cyriel Dessers — 6
Missed a few early chances, but made up for them by emphatically dispatching a penalty for Nigeria’s opening goal.
Benjamin Tanimu — 5
Jittery on his Super Eagles debut, and lost the ball on a number of occasions, but grew into the game towards the end before his departure due to injury.
Bruno Onyemaechi — 5
The wing-back did not do much wrong, but did not do much to advance the Super Eagles’ cause either before his withdrawal late in the game.
Bright Osayi-Samuel — 4
The Fenerbahce defender played a good 90 minutes of football, but ruined it with a moment of complacency in additional time to hand Ghana a lifeline by conceding a penalty.
Substitutes
Raphael Onyedika — 7
Came on as Ndidi’s replacement and was just as majestic in midfield. Played an incredible pass to free Iheanacho for Nigeria’s second goal.
Moses Simon — 5
Came on as a substitute and had a chance late on to put the cherry on top for the Super Eagles, but fluffed his lines and failed to find his feet at a crucial moment.
Ademola Lookman — 7
Even off the bench, Ademola Lookman showed his class scoring with his first meaningful touch of the game to make it 2-0 to Nigeria.
He also created a clear chance in the dying embers, but fellow substitute Simon was unable to make the most of the opportunity
Jamiu Collins — 4
Disappointing Cameo from Collins who managed to get a yellow card after only three minutes on the pitch.
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