2023 African Games: Five observations from Flying Eagles' controversial 1-0 win over South Sudan 

Nigeria recorded a slim 1-0 victory over South Sudan on Monday night to enhance their chances of progressing to the knockout stages of the 2023 African Games. 

 The Flying Eagles returned to winning ways after losing to dark horses Uganda in their opening match of the competition.

Sadiq Isiyaka secured the victory Nigeria, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way from 12-yard with nine minutes to the end of the game. 

With the victory, Nigeria secured three points from two games. South Sudan has no point in their opening two games.

Allnigeriasoccer.com presents five observations from the slim win over South Sudan 

1. Ladan Bosso Makes Four Changes  

Following the disappointing 2-1 loss to Uganda, Flying Eagles Coach, Ladan Bosso made four changes to the team against South Sudan. 

Nigeria needed a victory to stand a chance to progress to the next round after the defeat to Uganda.  

In lieu of this, Bosso named Nathaniel Nwosu, Sulaiman Idris, Rabiu Abdullahi, and Sunday Joseph to the lineup against South Sudan. 

They replaced  Samuel James, Nasir Muhammad, Charles Agada, and Ibrahim Alonge. 

2. Nigeria Still Lack Creativity, Cohesion in Performance 

As stated earlier, Ladan Bosso made four changes to the team that lost to Uganda in the opener. 

Despite the changes, the performance of the team was not convincing. Nigeria struggled to dominant or create chances against South Sudan. 

 3. Nwosu Fails To Impress 

Nathaniel Nwosu replaced Samuel James in the lineup due to his poor performance against Uganda. 

However, the former also struggled against South Sudan, almost gifting South Sudan two goals in the first half. 

Nwosu dropped the ball at the feet of Jawa, South Sudan's number 10 following a cross from the right. The goalkeeper was lucky as Jawa could only hit the woodwork. 

A few minutes later, he misjudged a corner kick but South Sudan failed to capitalize as the header went wide.    

4. Sadiq Isiyaka Becoming Nigeria's Talisman 

Since the commencement of football games in Ghana, the Flying Eagles  have failed to live up to expectation.

The Nigeria U20 team lost to Uganda in the opener and struggled to secure a slim 1-0 victory over South Sudan on Monday night.  

Despite the unconvincing performance of the Flying Eagles, Sadiq Isiyaka has shone at the tournament. 

He has scored Nigeria's both goals against at the tournament. 

5. Nigeria Benefits from Controversial Decision 

The Flying Eagles secured a must win victory over South Sudan at the Accra Sports Stadium.

Nigeria benefited from a controversial decision from the referee to award a penalty to the Flying Eagles to the displeasure of the fans. 

The game was heading to a goalless draw until the referee awarded Nigeria the penalty with nine minutes to the end of the game. 

Sadiq Isiyaka converted the penalty which made the fans at the stadium cheer every move from South Sudan to get an equalizer.  

Adeyemi Adewale

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