Golden Eaglets player ratings : Lawali steals the show; Olaleke defensively sound; Abdullahi stars

The Golden Eaglets of Nigeria kickstarted their Africa U-17 Cup of Nations campaign with a 1-0  win over the junior Chipolopolo of Zambia at the Stade Mohamed-Hamlaoui Stadium in Algeria.

Here is allnigeriasoccer.com's rating of  the Nigerian players.

The Starters 

Goalkeeper : Richard Odoh: He had nothing to do in the first half but was the busier of the two goalkeepers in the second half where he made two good saves. Odoh also demonstrated his ball-playing and long-throwing abilities. 7/10

Defenders

Yahaya Lawali: Lawali was Nigeria's best player. He was very lively in attack, showing great understanding with Abubakar Abdullahi in the first half. It was one of his passes that led to the goal. The young right-back was also not caught napping defensively. 9/10

Jeremiah Olaleke: The centre-back was very calm in and out of possession. Olaleke was strong in his duels and was always there to cover  Lawali whenever he bumped forward. 7.5/10

Tochukwu Ogboji: Just like his defensive partner, he was good with the ball and was always there to cover for his defensive partners. 7/10

Emmanuel Michael: The young left-back was lively in the first half but went quiet in the second. He made an outrageous attempt on goal which didn't come off. He also did his job well defensively.7/10

Midfielders and strikers

Hope Linus: He stood out with his use of the ball though he was caught unawares at times and demonstrated good reading of the game with his well-timed tackles.7.5/10

Tochukuwu Ogbadibo: Started in the double pivot role with Linus and went on with his job brilliantly though not like the former.7/10

Abubakar Abdullahi: Abdullahi was Nigeria's main attacking outlet and lively forward and his good understanding with Lawali, the right back is a positive from the game. 8/10

Usman Owoyemi: He was largely ineffective for most of the game unlike his colleagues but still worked his socks off.6/10

Forwards

Precious Williams: The skipper of the side was involved in the goal but was largely subdued by the Zambian defence and had to be taken off in the latter part of the game.6.5/10

Favour Daniel: He would have been rated lower if not for his goal. Daniel however demonstrated awareness and precision when struck the ball into the net from a rebound. 7/10

The Substitutes

Light Eke: He was lively when he came on, beating the tiring Zambian whenever he was marked. He however missed the chance to double Nigeria's lead when he failed to hit the target from the penalty spot. 5/10

Charles Agada : He didn't have much to do because he came on in the dying seconds of the game.NA

Abdulkareem Abdulhamid
 

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