AFCON 2023: Analysts take on Super Eagles after poor showing against Saudi Arabia

<p>At no point did the Super Eagles look convincing enough to defeat Saudi Arabia in an international friendly on Friday night.</p>, <p>Not even when Kelechi Iheanacho slammed the ball home in the 81st minute to give Nigeria a 2-1 lead at the Estádio Municipal de Portimão.</p>, <p>Victor Boniface’s deflected strike had cancelled out Salman Al-Faraj’s opener.</p>, <p>With literally seconds left in the game, Mohammaed Kanno smashed home a free-kick for the Asian nation.</p>, <p>Again, the match highlighted the flaws that have become typical with the Eagles under Jose Peseiro.</p>, <p>“My general thoughts on the game are that the Super Eagles must play as a functional coherent team on the field and guard against conceding needless free kicks around our 18-yard box,” Nomso Obiajuru, the Football Team Lead at Sports Brief tells DAILY POST.</p>, <p>He added: “They also need to do better with defending set pieces.</p>, <p>“We have very good individual players but struggle to play well as a team.</p>, <p>“In the early stage of the game, we looked decent. In the first 20 minutes, we perhaps could have been two nil up with chances for Osimhen and Chukwueze not taken.</p>, <p>“But shortly after that, we lacked any form of creativity and gave away the ball too many times with Chukwueze and Lookman being guilty on several occasions.</p>, <p>“Bruno Onyemaechi picked up from where he stopped against Sao Tome and Principe as he was a handful in the left-back position for the Super Eagles. His crosses kept the Saudi Arabia goalkeeper busy in the first half and he created a good chance for Osimhen which was not converted.</p>, <p>“Kelechi Iheanacho showed why he is still important in the team as he came in with less than 20 minutes on the clock but registered two shots on target with one finding the back of the net. He looked sharper than Samuel Chukwueze who he replaced.</p>, <p>“Moses Simon also showed why he is still a leader in the team as he changed the game, getting an assist and being a constant threat in the attack, someth