Five Things We Learned From Nigeria's 1-1 Draw Vs DR Congo

The Super Eagles were held to a 1-1 draw Monday evening at the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium Port Harcourt by Congo DR in one of the team's pre World Cup friendlies.


Crotone of Italy striker Simeon Tochukwu Nwankwo simply called 'Simy' may not have scored on the day but the beanpole forward was a nightmare for the Congo DR defenders.

The player hassled the defense and as early as the third minute rattled the post with a good shot.

In the second half he almost put his name on the scoresheet as his header off a throw-in by Ola Aina was clawed away by the Congolese goalkeeper Mossi Ngawi Antony.

Nwankwo's performance showed that he will be an attacking asset in Russia and a similar performance against England on Saturday will do it for the rangy striker who some sections of the Nigerian fan base believed will be one of the players to be dropped by Gernot Rohr- more like a 'training material'.

2. Kelechi Iheanacho Was Poor, Must Redeem Himself Against England

Leicester City forward Kelechi Iheanacho had a subdued performance against Congo DR on Monday evening in what could rightly be rated as his worst game for his country.

The former Manchester City man made sloppy passes and had terrible shooting accuracy.

Its logical to imagine that the left footed forward who played a huge role in Nigeria's World Cup qualification was simply being careful not to cop an injury which might ruin his World Cup chances.

Seeing as some big hitters will miss the World Cup in Russia due to injuries, or are at the risk of that, it may be a reasonable line of thought but now, he must deliver a worthy performance against England on Saturday to justify his place in Nigeria's World Cup team.

Not simply because of which club/league he plays in or his contributions to the country's World Cup participation.

3. Uzoho Is Best In one-on-one Situations

Francis Uzoho was in action when the Eagles faced Poland and Serbia in their friendlies in March, plus a second half show back in November versus Argentina.

Perhaps that the former Golden Eaglets youngster will be Nigeria's first choice goalkeeper at the World Cup is not surprising anymore so attention should shift to his strengths and weaknesses.

The Deportivo La Coruna goal minder made a couple of instinctive saves especially from close range stopping the likes of Benik Afobe.

When the Eagles played against Poland, he was equally promising and denied Bayern Munich goal machine, Robert Lewandowski from an outstretched foot.

Uzoho is good on such situations but his judgement of the flight of the ball when crossed is an area the trainers must work on.

4. Tyronne Ebuehi Is Good Back Up For Abdullahi, Ola Aina Is Not Good Enough For World Cup Duties

The sub headline says it all.

Benfica of Portugal new signing put up a decent showing against Congo DR showing great defensive awareness and was also an attacking outlet when the team surged forward.

The only problem with the lad is the fact that he is not physically imposing like Augustine Eguavoen or Mobi Oparaku were in 1994 and 1998 respectively.

Before he hobbled off injured, which hopefully is not serious, the young  man proved his worth but same cannot be said about a below par show put up by Aina.

The Chelsea defender hauled down a Congo DR player which led to a penalty and equalizer for the visitors.

Aina's performance generally was not encouraging. The jury is still out on him but based on Monday's friendly, Rohr should make do with Elderson Echiejile and Brian Idowu in the left back position.

Shehu Abdullahi (first choice) and Tyrone Ebuehi (back up) should be the two men for the number 2 position in Russia.

5. Midfield Starting Place To Be Settled

The Eagles midfield did not cover up adequately for the defense especially in the first half.

There were better performances by the midfield players in the second half though.

Before he was substituted off, Joel Obi worked tirelessly while Oghenekaro Etebo controlled the midfield very well but their output dropped before the half time break.

Thankfully we witnessed a better second half from Ogenyi Onazi and Etebo especially and it will be interesting to see who starts against England on Saturday, a game which captain John Obi Mikel will likely play in having missed out on Monday.

Izuchukwu Okosi