The Super Eagles of Nigeria were taught a lesson in football artistry in Marrakech, Morocco.
The Finidi George led team were completely outplayed and walloped by the Malian National Team 0-2 in an international friendly on Tuesday, March 26.
The score line was least expected, after the Super Eagles had put up an impressive performance in the previous friendly against the Black Stars of Ghana on Friday, March 22. In that game, Nigeria won by 2-1.
The win must have prompted Coach Finidi George to experiment with a weakened team which started without a potent striker up front.
Mali seized the momentum from the blast of proceedings and had so much possession in the first half, which made the experimental formation of the Super Eagles to fall flat.
Notably, Alex Iwobi was given a free role to move upwards which allowed the midfielder to give a good account of himself. This free role allowed the Malians to completely dominate the midfield and they scored through El Bilal Touré in the 18th minute of the first half.
The Super Eagles came back strongly in the second half and tried to control the game. However, the passes upfront were not getting to the front men to take shots at the Malian goal.
Mali scored again in the 87th minute through a counter attack. Kamory Doumbia made it 0-2 for the Malians.
The scoreline was a massive setback for the Super Eagles who were using the friendlies to prepare for the upcoming World Cup and African Nations Cup Qualifiers.
Although Nigeria fielded a weakened team with the notable absence of key players in the team, the scoreline does not paint a good picture for the prospects of Coach Finidi George.
George is in the running to fill the vacant Head Coach position of the Super Eagles. The friendlies were a good platform to showcase his abilities, and it did not come out so convincingly.
The question now on the minds of football pundits, is would the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) have enough belief in the ability of Finidi George to lead the team in the next series of qualifying games?
