Flying Eagles Player Ratings : Alhassan The Best; Oremade Solid; Zaruma Dogged; Ogbu Commanding; Muhammad Hard-working
Published: February 08, 2019![Flying Eagles Player Ratings : Alhassan The Best; Oremade Solid; Zaruma Dogged; Ogbu Commanding; Muhammad Hard-working](../football_pics/66014NigeriaU201.png)
Nigeria secured passage to the semifinals of the 2019 CAF U-20 Championship with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Niger in Niamey on Friday afternoon.
But how did the World Cup-bound Flying Eagles perform? Allnigeriasoccer.com runs the rule..
Goalkeeper:
Olawale Oremade: One can't just ask for more from his performance yet again. Smothered a real good chance from Mahamadou Sabo to complete a hat trick of tournament clean sheets. 8/10
Defenders:
Mike Zaruma: Dogged and was not afraid to push forward from his defensive positions and contained the tricky Issah Salou very well. Picked up a yellow for his troubles though. 8/10
Igoh Ogbu: Was his usual commanding presence in the centre of the defence and let little slip through. Kept Abdoul Malik Moustapha in checks as the skillful youngsters kept coming at the Nigerian defence particularly in the opening half. 8/10
Ozornwafor Valentine: Combined well with Ogbu in central defence and seemed to have struck up a good partnership with the Rosenborg FC ace. 7.5/10
Ikouwem Utim: Had little forays here and sat back more often than not. Did little wrong in keeping play ticking though. 6.5/10
Midfielders
Jamil Muhammad: The hard-working Jamil sat in front of the defensive line and efficiently mopped up play. Nearly squeezed a header in from a corner but for Lawali's intervention. 8/10
Abubakar Ibrahim: A hushed performance from the Plateau United youngster. Did little work with the ball and entirely looked circumspect off it. Came off for Effiom in the closing stages. 6/10
Aniekeme Okon: Occasionally fashioned out attacks with fast turns of pace. Gave the opposing midfielders a lot to chew for most part of it. 7/10
Attackers
Adamu Alhassan: Made a nuisance of himself against the opponent's defence and pulled off some good skills when going up against the opponents. Put his team into the lead with a fantastic free-kick. 8.5/10
Ibrahim Aliyu: Put the Junior Mena defenders on the back foot with his darting runs but rarely had a meaningful shout at goal. Replaced by Gata late on. 7/10
Nazifi Yahaya: Tested goalkeeper Khaled Lawali with a fine shot inside the opening five minutes and was really a handful in the first half. Saw little of the ball in the second period. 7/10
Substitutes
Maxwell Effiom: Had little time to impact on the game after coming on for the final ten minutes. 5/10
Adeshina Gata: Merely added fresh legs.
Afeez Aremu: A very late change.
Emmanuel Chinaza
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