TheCable

The Super Eagles showed their ruthless side with a 4-0 drubbing of Libya thanks to a hat-trick from Odion Ighalo.

Gernot Rohr’s players showed their best display yet and TheCable rates the players who stood tall as Nigeria continues her quest to qualify for AFCON 2019.

Francis Uzoho (4/5): Fantastic reflex save to deny Libya a quick equaliser from a downward header. He communicated well with his backline throughout the match.

William Troost-Ekong (4/5): The Udinese man did much of the cleanup job at the heart of defence with aplomb. He showed improvement in his decision making when clearing a cross and positioning. A solid display.

Leon Balogun (3/5): Looked out of tune early in the game and gave Libya an early chance to equalise but was bailed out by Uzoho’s good save. Improved as the game wore on and with the Eagles two goals up, looked his usual self.

Shehu Abdullahi: Looked solid early on but succumbed to injury in the 20th minute.

Jamilu Collins (4/5): Solid in defence and enterprising going forward. He also defended from the front foot, exemplified by stopping Libya deep in their territory. The 24-year-old left back is another viable option for the Super Eagles if he can keep this standard and build on it.

Wilfried Ndidi (3/5): Solid as usual in the middle of the park. Took up more of a leadership role on a quiet afternoon in which Etebo took much of his defending duties off him.

Oghenekaro Etebo (4/5): The midfield general was all over the park, snapping at heels, winning tackles and bringing the ball out from defence to link attack. Onazi has no way back with such display from the Stoke City midfielder who just doesn’t run out of steam and is ever present in both boxes.

Alex Iwobi (4.5/5): Playmaker of the day and he carried out his duties with aplomb. His one-two with Collins freed the fullback on a mazy run, while his defence-splitting pass led to Ighalo’s second. It was an accomplished performance from the maturing Arsenal playmaker who made good use of the protection from his fellow midfielders to wreak havoc in attack.

Samuel Kalu (3/5): Enterprising display but lacked final product. Always eager to take on his man- with a high success rate- and could have done better with his finish when played through by Iwobi on the counter. He finally got the kind of goal he loves to score, curling in from the edge of the area for Nigeria’s fourth and final goal.

Ahmed Musa (3/5): Subdued performance. Nothing he tried went through. A feeble strike from a good position summed up his afternoon. The captain kept on trying and finally had an assist for Nigeria’s third goal with the Libya defence at sleep.

Odion Ighalo (5/5): Finally has an afternoon to remember in the Super Eagles shirt with a hat-trick. Scored from the spot, rounded the keeper for the second and rolled the third in at his second attempt. A man of the match performance despite playing as the lone striker.

Substitutes

Ola Aina (3/5): The substitute was solid in defence despite the several attempts of the Libyans. Confidence on the ball improved as the game wore on but did not foray into attack much. A solid performance.

Isaac Success (3/5): Brought on for Ighalo but played more of a supporting role beside Iwobi in attacking midfield and had a hand in the fourth goal.

Henry Onyekwuru (3/5): He was given 10 minutes and should have had a goal but his control let him down. He, however, made an assist for the fourth goal, evading the goalkeeper before setting up Kalu. A good cameo performance.