Match winner against the Dominican Republic, midfielder Samson Lawal may have lost his starting shirt in the Flying Eagles to Tochukwu Nnadi after a subdued performance versus Italy.
Lawal sneaked in to score the winning goal on 70 minutes against the Dominican Republic, but he struggled to assert himself in the midfield against Italy.
Nnadi, a defensive midfielder by trade, replaced Lawal at halftime along with his teammate at Bulgarian club Botev Plodiv, Emmanuel Umeh, to make an immediate impact.
The 19-year-old Nnadi started the opening game against the Dominican Republic, but was consigned to the bench to allow for Victor Eletu to start against Italy.
The versatile midfielder is now most likely to start ahead of Lawal as he loves to venture upfront and could interchange with Eletu as the second defensive midfielder alongside Daniel Daga.
