Stats don't lie : Should Udinese striker be recalled to the Super Eagles for AFCONQ?

Super Eagles coach, Jose Peseiro has revealed that he has been monitoring the progress of Udinese striker, Isaac Success as the Portuguese tactician prepare to release his squad list for the two-legged tie against Guinea-Bissau in the African Cup of Nations qualifiers.

This does raise the question, has Success done enough to get a recall into the Super Eagles?

A player is called up into the national team due to his form with his club or his antecedent with the national team. Success does not meet any of these criteria.

Looking at his  statistics, the former Watford striker is yet to register a goal  in the Serie A this season despite featuring in all 26 games for Udinese.  

It is not surprising to know that he has underperformed his expected goals which stands at 2.7 as at the time of writing this article.

It can be argued that Success might not be scoring but has been creating assists.

He has 5 assists this season in the Seria A but it should be known that he has provided one in his last 8 games. Thus, there is nothing to suggest that Success is in form.

With regard to his antecedent or record with the national team, Success doesn’t have a reputable record with the Super Eagles which could have made a case for him being called up.

For instance, when Antoine Griezmann was not playing well for Barcelona, he was still being called by Didier Deschamps into the French national team due to his reputation and record for France.

The same can’t be said of Success who last featured for the Super Eagles in 2018 and he is yet to score a goal in 4 appearances for the senior national team.

In conclusion, Success’ form and record don’t suggest that he should be called into the national team at the moment especially at a time when the national team has quality attacking options and have other players who are in great form and are eligible to be called to the national team.

Abdulkareem Abdulhamid

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