Nigeria vs Madagascar: Ademola Lookman Flops but Ilenikhena shines on debut — Super Eagles Player Ratings

The Super Eagles have taken off for their journey to PAMOJA AFCON 2027, beating Madagascar 2-1 so start their qualification bid with victory.

The victory was buoyed by consequential performances from debutants George Ilenikhena and Moses Usor; however, the clash also featured underwhelming showing from stalwarts Ademola Lookman and Ola Aina.

Here are the full ratings for the Super Eagles vs Madagascar:

Stanley Nwabali is a polarising figure between the sticks for the Super Eagles, and his performance against Madagascar did not buck the trend.

His positioning and concentration came into question for the opener; Nigeria conceded to Ehsan Kari. Conversely, he made a brilliant 1v1 stop which ensured Nigeria won the game. Otherwise, he was seldom tested.

Ola Aina returned to the Super Eagles line-up for the first time in about a year. While he was not particularly poor, he did not show any of the dual threat qualities which made him sorely missed at AFCON 2025.

Semi Ajayi was solid when the play happened in front of him; however, he struggled in defending Madagascar transitions. He was also suspect in the set-piece goal the Super Eagles conceded.

Solid! Solid! Solid! Bassey continues to prove himself Nigeria's most reliable servant with the game against Madagascar, the latest evidence he submitted. The only reason he is not rated higher is due to how seldom Barea advanced into the Nigeria area.

Eric Chelle must have instructed his full-backs to stay behind, as, like Ola Aina, Bruno Onyeamachi rarely bombed forward. However, defensively, he could have been more solid.

While Madagascar found ease playing through Nigeria, a frequency which raises concern over Ndidi's influence, the raw data proves the attacks would have come in more regularly save for the Besiktas man. He completed 92% of his passes and made eight defensive contributions.

Like his Fulham teammate, Alex Iwobi was once again dependable. His brilliant throughball set the ball rolling for Nigeria in a goal-scoring context, and he created two other big chances in the game.