Victor Boniface or Wilfred Ndidi: Who will Super Eagles miss more at 2023 AFCON?

The Super Eagles will be without Bayer Leverkusen striker Victor Boniface and Leicester City midfielder Wilfred Ndidi at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

Boniface picked up a muscular injury in training with the Super Eagles during their Abu Dhabi closed camping while Ndidi also sustained a muscular injury in December and could be out of action for the next 3 months.

The absence of the duo is a major blow for José Peseiro ahead of the start of AFCON but it is the Bayer Leverkusen star that Nigeria will miss more and here is why.

It is no doubt that the three-time African champions have an abundance of quality in attack but the consistency of most of the players in the department calls for concern.

Terem Moffi who has been called to replace the former Union Saint-Gilloise striker has scored just 3 goals for Nice in the Ligue 1 since October and has a goal in his last 5 international appearances.

Kelechi Iheanacho hasn't found the back of the net for Leicester City in the last seven games in the Championship though he has 3 goals in the last five games for the national team.

Umar Sadiq has 2 goals all season for Real Sociedad and the last time he scored for Nigeria was at the last AFCON which is also his only strike for the national team to date.

Samuel Chukwueze's struggles with AC Milan this season have been notoriously noticed and hasn't fared any better with Nigeria, having scored just one goal since the last edition of the Africa Cup of Nations.

Moses Simon has one goal for Nantes since the start of October 2023 and has 1 goal in his last five international games.

While Ademola Lookman has been doing well for Atalanta since the start of last season, the same cannot be said for his performances with the Super Eagles, his last goal being in the 6-0 demolition of lowly rated São Tomé and Príncipe.

The implication of the foregoing is that heavy reliance will be placed on Victor Osimhen for goals at the tournament as other forwards have proved to be consistently inconsistent.

Not only is Peseiro losing his second-best forward in Boniface but also his most in-form player and that could hamper the chances of Nigeria triumphing at AFCON.

There is no doubt that Boniface offers more goal threat and more consistency than other forwards besides Osimhen.

With goals unlikely to come from the midfield and defense, this should be a big worry for Peseiro and his coaching crew.

Undoubtedly, Ndidi is the 2013 AFCON champions' best defensive midfielder but with Frank Onyeka, Raphael Onyedika, and Alhassan Yusuf, they are well covered.

Onyedika and Yusuf have been doing pretty well for Club Brugge and Royal Antwerp respectively this season and Onyeka hasn't looked out of place whenever he has been called upon.

Therefore, the absence of Boniface at the Africa Cup of Nations will hurt the Super Eagles more than Ndidi's.. 

Abdulkareem Abdulhamid

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