Many Nigerians are still not over the trauma of losing out against Croatia in one of Group D’s opening matches of the World Cup on Saturday night.

They won’t be consoled that even World Champions Germany were lucky to lose by a single goal against Mexico or that perennial World Cup favorites, Brazil, could only manage a draw against minnows Switzerland.

The expectations for a Nigeria win against Croatia were sky-high. But real football fans with in-depth knowledge of world football knew it was a big task expecting Nigeria to win.

As the match unfolded, the experts were even surprised at how Croatia couldn’t completely dominate the Super Eagles. In that respect, one could say the Nigerians gave a good account of themselves in a group Nigeria News tagged the most difficult.

That said, 5 things became clear by the end of the match.

1. Passion can only get you so far in a World Cup
It was telling that before the match, Nigerians believed grit, dedication and hard work were enough to win a football match.

Well, all those are important, see how Mexico ran Germany ragged. But without the personnel to execute the mission, it is going to be an impossible task.

They had better players than Nigeria. Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic play for Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively. They are two of the best midfielders in world football.

Nigeria can only brag of Mikel Obi who nobody has seen playing in a while because nobody watches Chinese football. Ndidi, the other midfielder plays for Leicester, who are not a top club in European football. Oghenekaro Etebo just signed for Stoke City of England’s second tier.

Nigeria had passion aplenty, but on the day, it was never going to be enough unless luck was on their side.

2. Real fans can’t be bothered wasting emotions on the Super Eagles
One striking feature among football fans after the game was the lack of angst that Nigeria lost.

Sure there was disappointment. But it is the type you experience when you score 79 in a test instead of 80. You would be a bit disappointed but at the end of the day, you know it is still an ‘A’ grade.

Instead of anger, many fans were making jokes about a pig that predicted a semi-final for the Eagles. Well, that prediction is still on as Nigeria is still in with a chance to qualify for the next round.

However, they would need a miracle to get the required victory against Argentina. Too much shouldn’t be read in the draw between Argentina and Iceland.

Iceland barely survived after some resolute defending. But then again, this is football and things are not always black and white.

3. Victor Moses is a sneaky player
Many people would have given the most outstanding player award to a Nigerian player to Victor Moses if he had stayed on his feet more often.

Even the referee cottoned on the fact that Moses always went to ground easily. You wonder where he learned that habit which is common to players like Neymar, Ronaldo, and Spanish players.

Normally, football fans associate constant falling over to star players who the opposition tend to kick constantly to unsettle them or even take them out of action through injury.

It didn’t suit Moses; and after a while, it became really irritating and annoying in equal measures.

It’s like he wanted the world to know that, apart from 419, Nigerians are also good at cheating in football. He did a bad job of that though.

4. Etebo is actually a really good player
While most Nigerians were looking up to Ndidi and Mikel Obi to dominate the midfield, it was Etebo who provided the spark in the midfield.

He wasn’t fazed by the more illustrious Modric and Rakitic. He stood toe to toe with them and won several duels. He was clearly the most outstanding player for Nigeria.

5. Mikel is wasted as an advanced creative midfielder
Mikel Obi was a promising number 10 in youth championships. But he spent most of his productive years playing as a defensive midfielder for Chelsea. Nobody knows what he does now for his club in China.

If Rohr has to use him in, he must be reverted to the role he featured in for Chelsea.

His physique, strength, and technique are suitable for the role of the deep playmaker in the mold of Pirlo of Italy while at the same time using his strength to shield the back four.

He simply doesn’t have the legs to cover a lot of ground which is what is required of him at the moment.


Source: https:///2MuZ6ZU

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