OwnGoalNigeria.com watched the first full training session of the senior national team of Nigeria ahead of their campaign at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Cameroon.
We picked five things that we noticed during the course of the session which went on for around two hours with the coaches putting the players through several tactical drills and even playing a test match.
1. Iheanacho Is Best Finisher – The Leicester City forward showed his ice cold predatory instinct in front of goal during a drill involving strikers and goalkeppers. He succeeded with all of his efforts and during the course of the test match scored twice. He even scored another when the pitch was halved during the closing session of the training.
2. Sadiq Likely To Start As Lone Striker – Interim coach of the Nigerian team Austine Eguavoen gave a big hint that Almeria forward Sadiq Umar will start in attack as the lone forward as he had several drills with him. Mostly on his positional awareness and runs into the box.
3. Ejuke Vs Aribo For Number 10 Role- One battle that will go down the wire in the quest for players to nailed down spots is the role of the number ten. Coach Austine Eguavoen is sold on the idea of playing Chidera Ejuke in the role but the arrival of Joe Aribo means it won’t be a straight forward decision.
4. Frank Onyeka Is A Tank – There is no how anybody who watched yesterday session won’t take notice of Brentford midfielder Frank Onyeka. He was the busiest among all players breaking and linking up play with ease. His industrious nature nullied the threat of Ejuke as he robbed him off the ball severally.
5. Moses Simon is “Undroppable” – He was by far one of the most impressive during yesterday’s session. Playing from his preferred position on the left. His combination with Zaidu Sanusi was particularly mind blowing but not as much as the way he glide past his markers at an alarming pace without losing the ball.
