Osimhen's timing: Will the Super Eagles forward ever get it right?

Victor Osimhen is expected to be Nigeria's leading centre-forward for many years

ANALYSIS Osimhen's timing: Will the Super Eagles forward ever get it right?

Seye Omidiora 09:22 - 26.03.2023

Nigeria’s top marksman was flagged offside multiple times against Guinea-Bissau, underscoring a continued weakness in his game.

Victor Osimhen undoubtedly packs a punch and the best is yet to come.

This season has seen the Napoli striker dominate Serie A in his third year with the Partenopei after two decent-to-good campaigns in Italy’s top-flight, where he leads the race for the Capocannoniere with 11 gameweeks remaining.

Under Luciano Spalletti, the Nigeria international has shone for the Azzurri, taking his game to the next level with deadly and remarkable finishing.

Victor Osimhen
Victor Osimhen is outdoing his expected return this season (Fbref)

The forward is outdoing his expected numbers by a slightly higher margin than he did in year two in Naples, with 21 league goals already the highest tally he has ever achieved. And the centre-forward is expected to add to that tally in the campaign’s denouement.

Be that as it may, Osimhen is far from perfect, and a penchant for running into space beyond the opponent’s line of defence leaves the risk of being caught offside when his timing is rushed.

Indeed, this was an intermittent source of frustration in Friday’s 1-0 defeat by Guinea-Bissau, where the West African giant’s top marksman was caught offside four times. This was even more conspicuous because no other Super Eagle was flagged offside in 90 minutes, and the away side’s tally in the game’s entirety was five.

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Nigeria vs Guinea-Bissau
Victor Osimhen was flagged offside multiple times against Guinea-Bissau (Sofascore)

We scrutinise all four situations again, analysing if the centre-forward was too eager or if passes into him were delayed.

First offside incident

Five minutes into Friday’s game, Alex Iwobi’s lofted pass from the left wing finds Samuel Chukwueze inside the box, and the Villarreal man is one-v-one against his marker Fali Cande.

Nigeria vs Guinea-Bissau
Samuel Chukwueze one-v-one against Fali Cande, with Victor Osimhen around the penalty spot

Osimhen, already positioned on the blind side of centre-back Sori Mane, expects a chipped ball from the winger, but the wide attacker delays with an extra feint...

Nigeria vs Guinea-Bissau
Samuel Chukwueze delays his pass despite Victor Osimhen already on the blind side of Sori Mane

 ...and the Napoli striker is already beyond the Guinea-Bissau backline when the ball comes.

Nigeria vs Guinea-Bissau
Victor Osimhen is already in an offside position when the ball is played

He immediately gestures to the Villarreal man to release the ball quicker.

Second offside incident

Nearly halfway into the opening half, Iwobi finds Chukwueze just outside the penalty area...

Nigeria vs Guinea-Bissau
Samuel Chukwueze receives the ball from Alex Iwobi outside the Guinea-Bissau penalty area

...and the winger sends the ball into the box from the left half-space after beating Moreto Cassama. But Osimhen had impatiently drifted offside despite looking across the line the whole time.

Nigeria vs Guinea-Bissau
Victor Osimhen could not hold his run and was already offside when Samuel Chukwueze crossed into the box

If the Napoli marksman could be excused for the initial incident, the 21st-minute event was down to being overeager.

Third offside incident

Just over a minute passed when Nigeria’s central striker was flagged offside for the third time on Friday.

Iwobi and Kelechi Iheanacho had combined with a one-two down the left flank...

Nigeria vs Guinea-Bissau
Alex Iwobi creates separation after a one-two with Kelechi Iheanacho on the left flank

...and the Everton man drifted infield with Ademola Lookman and Osimhen awaiting a through-ball...

Nigeria vs Guinea-Bissau
Alex Iwobi looks up to survey his options with Ademola Lookman and Victor Osimhen expecting a through-ball

...but the ex-Arsenal man misses his moment to release the pass, and eventually plays in the striker who could no longer hold his run in that action.

Nigeria vs Guinea-Bissau
Alex Iwobi's pass was delayed and Victor Osimhen already strayed offside

Fourth offside incident

With Jose Peseiro's troops already chasing the game following Mama Balde’s 29th-minute goal, the Super Eagles needed to show something different after the break.

But Osimhen was caught offside for the fourth time less than two minutes after the interlude. On this occasion, he may have been a tad unlucky.

Nigeria vs Guinea-Bissau
Alex Iwobi is in possession and Victor Osimhen is still onside

Iwobi received possession inside the Guinea-Bissau half and spotted the striker around the D, releasing a pass to the 24-year-old, who appears level with Djurtus’ last defender Mane when the ball is played.

Nigeria vs Guinea-Bissau
Despite appearing to be onside when Alex Iwobi's pass is played, Victor Osimhen is adjudged to have strayed offside

Unsurprisingly, the demonstrative forward gestured to the linesman on the far side that he was level with the visiting side’s line.

Nigeria vs Guinea-Bissau
Victor Osimhen remonstrates with the linesman after the closest offside decision against Guinea-Bissau

The game state meant Baciro Cande’s men sat deeper as they looked to hold on to their slender advantage throughout the second half, consequently failing to catch Nigeria’s top marksman offside for the rest of the match.

Even though a couple of Friday’s incidents had more to do with Osimhen’s teammates not being on the striker’s wavelength, the broader sample size implies an undesirable keenness in the timing of his runs.

“Osimhen was often offside because he was so eager that he started the runs early,” explained Spalletti in October 2022 after a Champions League game with Ajax in Naples.

The numbers show that Osimhen has been caught offside 27 times in Serie A, outranking everyone in the Italian top division, even though he falls to second among players averaging 10 games and above when per 90 metrics are examined.

Serie A - Offside
Victor Osimhen has been caught offside more times than any other player in Serie A (Fbref)

It is doubly striking when you consider the four games missed by the Napoli forward from September to October last year, even if it also highlights the striker’s inclination to play on the shoulder of the last defender.

This has its drawbacks, especially for someone with the Nigeria international’s speed and athleticism.

Several instances abound for the Partenopei frontman, with that Champions League game with Ajax last October, the 2-0 success over Eintracht Frankfurt in Germany and a recent league game at Empoli

Champions League - Frankfurt vs Napoli
Victor Osimhen was caught offside against Eintracht Frankfurt, thus missing the chance to score his second on the night

Osimhen found the back of the net in those games, but he could have had more had he not been excessively eager.

The standout moment playing for the Super Eagles came in the World Cup playoff meeting with Ghana in March 2022, when a goal that would have put the three-time African champions ahead on aggregate was chalked off after a VAR review.

Osimhen has undoubtedly improved in leaps and bounds in the intervening 12 months but still intermittently struggles with timing. Will he ever get it right? Will there ever be perfection or anything close to it?