Uzoho howler and four other observations from Super Eagles 2-2 draw against Saudi Arabia 

The Super Eagles were held to a 2-2 by Saudi Arabia in an international friendly on Friday evening. 

 

Nigeria were on the brink of winning the first friendly under Jose Peseiro only for Mohamed Kanno to score an equalizer in the tenth minute of second half stoppage time

 

Allnigeriasoccer.com here presents the five takeaways from the Estádio Municipal de Portimão. 

 

1. Eagles wasteful in the first half 

 

The Super Eagles  had multiple chances to score in the first 45 minutes but squandered the opportunities presented to them. 

 

Atalanta forward Ademola Lookman missed the best chance in the first half, while the trio of Victor Osimhen, Victor Boniface, and Samuel Chukwueze were also culprits of missed chances. 

 

2. Uzoho's error cost Eagles again 

 

The Green Falcons opened the scoring in the 60th minute, scoring from a direct free-kick taken by Salman Al-Faraj. 

 

Salman's free-kick was directed to the Eagles goalkeeper, but he failed to punch the ball to safety and instead pushed it inside his net. 

 

3  Osimhen suffers injury, yet to break Aiyegbeni's record

 

Victor Osimhen was replaced in the 59th minute after picking up an injury. The substitution means the Napoli striker is yet to match or break the goal record of Yakubu Aiyegbeni in the Eagles shirt. 

 

Osimhen has scored 20 goals in 28 games for Nigeria, while Yakubu scored 21 in 58 games. 

 

4. Wilfred Ndidi pivotal in midfield 

 

The Leicester City star r again showed his class in the Super Eagles midfield with his strength and leadership quality. 

 

Ndidi struggled last campaign with injuries but has been impressive for the Foxes in 2023. The former Genk midfielder, however, transmitted club form to the Eagles shirt, impressing against Sao Tome and now against Saudi Arabia. 

 

5.Peseiro's changes make the difference in the second half 

 

After the Super Eagles conceded the first goal, the Portuguese manager reacted with triple change, introducing the trio of Kelechi Iheanacho, Moses Simon, and Bright Osayi-Samuel for Samuel Chukwueze, Ademola Lookman, and Tyronne Ebuehi.

 

The three players changed the dynamics of the Eagles' attack, with Moses Simon and Iheanacho contributing to both Eagles' goals. 

 

Moses Simon was involved in the build-up to the own goal from Salman Al-Faraj, while Iheanacho scored the second, firing from the edge of the box into the goalkeeper's top corner. 

 

Adeyemi Adewale

 

 

Photo Credit: saff.com.sa

 

 

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