Can Osimhen goals, brilliance of Victor Boniface lift Super Eagles at AFCON?

A suspect defence with a goalkeeper prone to costly blunders and a midfield lacking in quality mean the Super Eagles are not among the favourites to win the 2023 AFCON in Cote d’Ivoire later this month.

However, the goals of CAF Player of the Year Victor Osimhen added to the individual brilliance of Victor Boniface could see the Eagles flying high against most expectations.

Coach Jose Peseiro has already boosted that he parades one of the best attacking teams on the continent.

Besides Osimhen and Boniface, the three-time African champions also have Ademola Lookman, the leading scorer for Atalanta in Serie A this season with seven goals; tricky AC Milan winger Samuel Chukwueze, Moses Simon of Ligue 1 club FC Nantes as well as Kelechi Iheanacho from Leicester City.

But the Portuguese coach will also need his team to defend their goal and for the midfield to create the bulk of the chances for this fearsome attack to finish off.

The team again face a goalkeeping crisis similar to what confronted them midway through the qualifying tournament for the 2018 World Cup when first-choice Carl Ikeme was struck down by Leukemia.

For the World Cup proper in Russia, coach Gernot Rohr installed Francis Uzoho as his No 1.

Six years on, Uzoho is again battling for his place in the team after dropping some clangers that cost Nigeria dearly, like letting in the goal in Abuja that handed arch-rivals Ghana the ticket to the 2022 World Cup as well as another blunder that gifted Saudi Arabia a draw in October.

Uzoho’s lack of action at his Cypriot club Omonia Nicosia had afforded Maduka Okoye the chance to wear the Eagles No 1 shirt.

But Okoye will then be blamed for conceding the goal by Tunisia that consigned Nigeria to a premature exit at the 2021 AFCON in Cameroon.

After much denial of a goalkeeping crisis, Peseiro has had to fly out to South Africa to run the rule on Chippa United goalkeeper Stanley ‘Bobo’ Nwabali and draft him to his final AFCON squad.

Will he now throw this giant shot stopper into the fray in Cote d’Ivoire to save his job?

The Eagles are also at the AFCON with as many as five central defenders to underline the other major concern in their defence.

William Ekong and Kenneth Omeruo are experienced campaigners but on the other side of the hill of their careers, while younger rivals Chidozie Awaziem, Semi Ajayi and Calvin Bassey still have a lot to prove at this level.

Also, the Super Eagles midfield does not have the creativity that will get those big guns in attack firing like they do week in, week out at their clubs.

Thankfully, defensive midfielder Wilfred Ndidi has got over a slump in form that saw his Transfermakt value plummet to an all-time low and he is again flourishing in a more attacking role at his English club.

It is now left to be seen whether Peseiro will give him such license at the AFCON.

The other midfield enforcers on the squad are Frank Onyeka, who has yet to set the pitch on fire in a green and white shirt, and the relatively untested Raphael Onyedika.

Both Alex Iwobi and Joe Aribo have often been tasked with the responsibility of bringing out the best from one of the most talented pool of attackers in world football.

How well they create for this much-vaunted strike force will go a long way to determine how high the Super Eagles fly at this AFCON.