AFCON Qualifiers: Eagles lack tactics, says Akanni

Ex-international, Waidi Akanni, said the poor performance of the Super Eagles during the African Nations Cup (AFCON) qualifiers was because of lack of tactics.

Akanni said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Lagos.

According to him, Nigeria avenged the defeat in the first match by defeating Guinea-Bissau at home to retake the lead in Group A.

Akanni urged the head coach of the Super Eagles, Jose Peseiro, to get his tactics right, which he said were deficient in the last two games. He added that the changes made by the coach in the two games didn’t make any difference at all.

“His selection of players was also faulty with strikers not playing in the right positions. For instance, Onuachu was made to play with Osimhen.

“Some of the positionings are obviously not working, so that should be looked into,” he said.

On the June 12 qualifying match against Sierra Leone, Akanni, a member of the Nigeria national 1985 FIFA U-20 bronze medal-winning team, told NAN that with good tactics, the Super Eagles shouldn’t struggle.

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“Sierra Leone should not be that difficult with the caliber of players we have, but the match should be addressed differently.

“We should give some other new players the opportunity to showcase their talents, particularly in the midfield.

“The coach shouldn’t be so rigid and should play others invited to camp. Every player brings something unique to the table,” he said.

Super Eagles are currently ahead in Group A with nine points, while Guinea-Bissau are second with seven points. Sierra Leone have five points and Sao Tome are last with one point.

(NAN)