How the Eagles should play
Under Samson Siasia there seems to be a revival of wing play by the Super Eagles and that means that the transition from midfield to attack will be faster and more direct.
The likes of Ahmed Musa and Victor Moses are very fast and skillful and are able to attack down both wings. There is also Osaze Odemwingie, who can also do the job of a winger.
Chukwuma Akuneto, a former Nigerian international and presently first team coach at English league outfit, FC United believes, there are no easy games in today’s football.
Akuneto proposes that, the Eagles have to monopolise ball possession.
“Repossession of the ball will be very important and we need to play high and wide – either with three strikers or two wingers.
“The Eagles have an array of players who are exceptional going forward so we need to win possession back and let them go and destroy the opposition. What this means is that we can’t wait for them to lose possession but we go get the ball or make them lose it by applying pressure.”
He also added that the defensive players must push high up the pitch to congest the play in the Ethiopian half.
“We must press with a high line in front – the attackers have to put pressure on their defenders so we can win the ball back closer to their goal or they decide to just launch the ball into our half of the pitch thereby conceding possession,” Akuneto added.
But there are dangers of pressing that high like Barcelona does and he advises that the Super Eagles defenders must concentrate a hundred per cent to ward off counter attacks, which may be the strategy of the East Africans.
“The Concentration of our defenders, including the defensive midfielder and goalkeeper becomes very crucial in this game because we don’t want to be caught out by the long ball over the top or by a counter attack.
“We want to win the ball back close to their goal and allow our creative and penetrative players go do the business and more importantly we want to make them feel in constant danger like a team under constant threat and attack – a sort of psychological battering,” Akuneto concluded.
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