Nigeria Vs Zambia : Five Super Eagles Players To Watch

Published: October 06, 2017

Here are five important Super Eagles players to watch for the World Cup qualifier between Nigeria and Zambia on Saturday.

1) John Obi Mikel : The 28-year-old would be duly expected to put up an astute performance once again in the centre of the pack, just as he did in the Cameroon games.

What he lacks in pace and power,he more than makes up for with his shrewd judgement on the ball, precision and

accurate distribution which are his very distinct attributes.

It is tantamount to tomfoolery to think any of his team mates can really match these.

2) Odion Ighalo : Quick,powerful and packing a poacher's howitzer of a shot,Ighalo is unarguably the perfect striker for the current Super Eagles set-up.

His continuous tormenting of the Cameroonian defensive pair, Ngadeu Ngadjiu and Adolphe Teikeu was a delight to watch and the Chipolopolo must equally be wary of him.

The early notions of lethargy and rustiness has been completely jettisoned; Odion Ighalo has lost none of his edge and the stage is once again set to continue to prove the stoic doubters wrong.

3) Victor Moses : Nigeria's dangerman. At the moment,the 26-year-old might not just be indispensable but equally the man-to-go-to when in need of results.

Possessing a wand of a right foot and a keen eye for goal, taking on and outwitting opposing defences are his specialty.

His well-taken goal against Cameroon further highlighted his importance to the Super Eagles — (he's already had three altogether) and it would be particularly difficult to keep him off the scoresheet on Saturday.

4) Leon Balogun : Balogun is swiftly exemplifying the complete epitome of a libero in the Eagles rear-guard.

Strong in aerial duels,gritty in defending and equally poised to thwart opposing forays with last-ditch challenges, the German-born defender is perhaps the first name on Rohr's team sheet.

Expect him to put in one or two crunching tackles as usual.

5) Alex Iwobi : The poster boy of the new generation of Super Eagles attackers has gradually took some time to get going, no thanks to injuries at club level but suffice to say he is no doubt a very much talented player, unplayable on his day.

It would look somewhat of a crack-pot idea to draft him straight back into the starting XI ahead of Moses Simon(he did substantially well in the last qualifiers) but Rohr might decide to do just that.

If his cracking effort against Brighton & Hove Albion in the English topflight last week was anything to go by, then Alex Iwobi is a man on fire!

Emmanuel Chinaza