In their opening two World Cup Qualifiers matches, the Nigerian National Team lost to lower-ranked teams Lesotho (at home) and Zimbabwe without earning a point.
For the record, Donovan Bernard, the starting goalkeeper for Chicken Inn, a local team in Zimbabwe, is unstoppable when it comes to players like Terem Moffi and Victor Boniface, who play in the top five leagues in Europe.
During the first qualifying match against Lesotho, Wilfred Ndidi was really missed because the opponents bossed the midfield and easily got the ball into Nigeria’s final third.
Ndidi is one player who can shield the defence and also make timely tackles, but in his absence no player could fill in his boots.
Another player who was missed was Victor Osimhen.
The Napoli striker scored 10 goals during the AFCON Qualifying Campaign, but was unavailable for selection as Nigeria struggled to find the target against minnows like Lesotho and Zimbabwe.
Hopefully, these two will be fit when Nigeria takes on South Africa on the 5th of June, 2024.
