Chris Maduewesi
Member
A game the whole nation pinned their hopes on,it is not surprising the dejection that attended the loss.
Nigeria lost 2-0 to France but the result was not as straightforward as it looked on paper,in fact a lot of factors contributed largely to this outcome.
The Super Eagles will have to wait for another time to be able to break the cycle of second round exits that has been with the team for a long time.
The ripple effect of that loss has started falling like a pack of cards. First up was the spate of retirements and resignation coming out from the national team.
Reports emerged after the game that Stephen Keshi has stepped down as coach and Joseph Yobo also confirmed that he is no longer playing for the Super Eagles.
Maybe if Nigeria had defeated France,judgment day would have been postponed.
These are some of the reasons why Nigeria lost the game.
*Refereeing decisions:
The match official from USA did not help the cause of the Super Eagles who had tough decisions going against them.
"This is the first time I will blame the referee for bad handling of a match. There is nothing I can do about that. He was the Alpha and Omega at that point in time,’’ Keshi said after the game.
Rightly so some of the decisions were terrible calls. Keshi felt that Emmanuel Emenike’s 16th minute goal shouldn't have been ruled out for an offside.
Also the referee failed to send off Blaise Matuidi for a stamp on Ogenyi Onazi's ankle with the Nigerian player substituted and having a POP strapped on his left leg.
Also Nigeria did not have a penalty given to them when Patrice Evra wrapped his arms around Osaze Odemwingie.
These were top decisions that cost Nigeria the game.
*Mikel went missing again:
When he is needed to rise up to the occasion,he simply goes missing and can't be found anywhere.
Mikel gave away lots of passes that one wonders how Keshi pinned his creativity hopes on the Chelsea player.
With the exception of a back -heel pass that even Juwon Oshaniwan couldn't get to,there was hardly any right thing he did on the pitch.
He was lazy and failed to influence the game for Nigeria when other French midfielders ran the show.
Young Paul Pogba towered above Mikel in midfield and the Nigeria player looked nonetheless ordinary.
Now the talks is that Mikel is simple over-hyped,lacking real qualities like other number 10's.
*Wide men didn't help:
Nigeria had Ahmed Musa,Victor Moses and Osaze Odemwingie in the match yet their cross tally was abysmal.
Musa seemed to run out of gas while Moses' effective contribution was a goal-line clearance that was destined for the net.
Their contributions in the game was piss-poor and they didn't make any impact especially in the second half of the game.
One expected penetrating runs that would have troubled the French team on the break but Didier Deschamps' team wasn't really ruffled.
*Griezmann changed the game:
Up to until the introduction of Antione Griezmann into the game,Nigeria was holding the French team more so thanks to the heroics of Vincent Enyeama in goal for the Super Eagles.
Griezmann was a key decision Deschamps made to unlock the Super Eagles. Efe Ambrose instantly lost his composure and had a hard time coping with the Real Sociedad player.
The 23-year old started the move that led to Karim Benzema forcing Enyeama to punch out the ball,with Pogba headed in the goal from the resultant corner-kick.
He got the final nail in the coffin when in stoppage time he made Joseph Yobo score an own goal,getting in front of him as the Nigerian defender was trying to stop him from getting to a cross.
His runs unsettled the entire Nigerian back four who couldn't cope with him.
*Keshi's technical input was found wanting:
When Onazi got injured,Ramon Azeez was stripping to come on only for Reuben Gabriel to surface. The latter had minimal effect and did little to stabilize Nigeria's midfield.
Keshi did not react when Nigeria went a goal down in the 79th minute only to make a last ditch effort in stoppage time to take off Moses and bring in Uche Nwofor.
A positive response from the bench early enough maybe would have even won the match for Nigeria.
Deschamps identified what he needed to do and he did it,bring in Griezmann and the rest is history.
Even when Keshi had two more substitutions to do and chasing the game,he hesitated a bit and Nigeria lost it.
Perhaps Everton manager,Roberto Martinez sums it up nicely how the bench failed Nigeria against France.
"Nigeria didn't have anything extra coming from the bench. Everything was on the pitch." Roberto Martinez said.
Photo Credit: @NGSuperEagles
