Coach Jose Peseiro was widely praised for coming up with the game plan that beat AFCON hosts Cote d’Ivoire, but questions have now been asked, and rightly so, about the tactics he employed against Guinea Bissau in a final group game.
For the opening AFCON Group A game against Equatorial Guinea, Peseiro settled for the 4-3-3 formation.
This was a departure from the 4-4-2 formation he used for the two 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho and Zimbabwe in November.
This change is understandable with the sudden withdrawal of exciting Bayer Leverkusen striker Victor Boniface from the AFCON due to a major groin injury suffered in training camp.
The 3-4-3 formation the Portuguese coach put up against the Ivorians was necessitated partly by the respect he has for the host country and also because he could not get a direct replacement for the injured Alhassan Yusuf.
Antwerp ace Alhassan, a box-to-box midfielder, was a pleasant surprise even in a disappointing 1-1 draw with giant killers Equatorial Guinea.
He was Nigeria’s best player on the day with the confidence and commitment he showed on his AFCON debut as he played like an established international and not a player who was playing only his second official game for the Super Eagles and a late replacement for Wilfred Ndidi.
Against most expectations, Peseiro continued with the 3-4-3 system against a Guinea Bissau team, who had lost their first two games and were already on the plane back home.
It needed an own goal to get the Super Eagles across the line in their worst performance at the tournament.
Critics have said the Eagles have been lucky so far and that their much-vaunted attack led by Victor Osimhen must step up to be counted.
Osimhen has so far netted the team’s only goal in open play after three matches.
Even with the conservative 3-4-3 formation Nigeria have created the most chances at this AFCON.
The Napoli striker has put too much pressure on himself as the CAF Player of the Year and as he has not been at his clinical best, his self-belief has suffered a huge body blow.
Peseiro must now play to his team’s biggest strength, which he himself has said is the attack, while of course protecting his own goal as he has done thus far in Cote d’Ivoire.
Kelechi Iheanacho will be the joker on match day as he has fully recovered from a thigh injury, Paul Onuachu is on good form as could be seen in his cameo appearances in the competition and Terem Moffi has a point to prove after a late call-up.
On Saturday night, the Super Eagles face their biggest Nemesis at the AFCON, the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon.
Cameroon denied Nigeria three AFCON titles when it has mattered most – the championship game – in 1984, 1988 and 2000.
Nigeria may have stopped the Indomitable Lions in the quarterfinal of the 2019 AFCON the last time both teams met in this tournament, but the Cameroonians again showed great character to come back from the dead against The Gambia to qualify for the knockout rounds.
Both teams will re-create the 1984 AFCON final at the same Houphouet Boigny Stadium in Abidjan, where the Indomitable Lions won 3-1 to scoop the first of their five AFCON crowns.
It will be showdown that will be won by the team who score goals, who make the most of their chances on the day.
