Nigeria vs Rwanda: Eric Chelle is not Super Eagles material as Arokodare seals Boniface’s fate

Super Eagles manager Eric Chelle is once again under pressure, but Tolu Arokodare’s goal helped Nigeria to a slim 1-0 win over Rwanda in their World Cup qualifiers on Saturday. 

Arokodare came on at halftime for Frank Onyeka to score the only goal in the 51st minute and give the Super Eagles their first win at home in this qualifying campaign. 

The win lifts Nigeria to third in their qualifying group, six points behind South Africa, who they face on Tuesday. 

It was not a vintage performance from the three-time African champions, with Chelle’s tactics coming under scrutiny once again. 

Here are five things we learnt from the game. 

When Nigeria appointed Chelle, there were question marks about whether Super Eagles players would be able to adapt to his preferred 4-4-2 diamond formation. 

Well, the results so far show that it is not working, and it is most likely not going to work. Chelle did try to tweak things by deploying a 4-3-1-2 formation, but the team looked disjointed in the first half, with the players lacking ideas on what they were supposed to do. 

Chelle said he wanted a team that dominates possession, yet he played a midfield trio of Wilfred Ndidi, Alex Iwobi, and Frank Onyeka, with the latter playing a more advanced role. 

The decision to pair Onyeka and Ndidi is baffling because neither of these two offers anything in the final third. 

Onyeka was our most advanced midfielder in the first half of the game, but he struggled all through. He is stiff when he moves with the ball and has not a single ounce of creativity.

Yet, Chelle still felt he was the best option to take up the most advanced role among the three midfielders he started with. 

Aside from that, his decision to start without a recognised right-forward meant most of our creativity came from the left. 

This affected the communication between Moses Simon and Ademola Lookman, as they both occupied the same space. 

For some time now, the Super Eagles have been looking for a player who can deputise Victor Osimhen in attack, but they have struggled to find a perfect deputy. 

It looked like Victor Boniface would be the One, but the new Werder Bremen striker has struggled to replicate his club form in Nigeria’s colours. 

However, it appears that the Super Eagles now have a capable replacement for Osimhen in Tolu Arokodare. 

The new Wolves striker came on at half-time to score the opener. He should have been the first option when Osimhen came off injured in the first half, but Cyriel Dessers came on for the Galatasaray man. 

However, knowing something had to change, Chelle decided to bring in Arokodare for Onyeka at halftime, with the decision paying off. 

The 24-year-old opened the scoring with a brilliant overhead kick after Ola Aina’s initial effort had been blocked off the line. 

While Arokodare might not be your typical flair striker, he offers the Super Eagles something different. 

At a height of 1.97m, Arokodare offers the Super Eagles an aerial threat in attack. He also has strong link-up and hold-up play. 

If he continues in the same vein in subsequent games, he might have just usurped Boniface in the pecking order. 

Nwabali is unlikely to lose his spot, but if he wants to keep it that way, he needs to cut out his theatrics. 

There were times in today’s game that he got involved in some situations he did not need to be. His fondness for time wasting also needs to be addressed, especially in a game where the Super Eagles need to win convincingly. 

The last three games of the qualifiers are must-win for Nigeria, but if the three-time African champions are to get the job done, then they will need Nwabali to be on his best behaviour. 

Before the game against Rwanda, Dessers had delivered a couple of decent performances for Nigeria. 

However, the game against the Amavubi was the perfect opportunity for him to show that he is cut out for African football. 

But he failed to show that in Uyo after replacing Osimhen. Although his cause was not helped by the lack of quality services, Dessers could still have applied himself more. 

He struggled with the physicality of the game and was easily bullied. Considering Nigeria’s attacking department, the new Panathinaikos striker might not get his chance again. 

While the most important thing is the three points, a 1-0 win at home against Rwanda is not the best way to pull fans back on your side and inspire confidence. 

Going into the game, the Super Eagles knew they had to win and win convincingly. However, they achieved just half of their goal. 

The performance was pathetic, and it is unlikely to strike fear into the hearts of the South Africans ahead of the highly anticipated clash between the two sides on Tuesday. 

Also, considering the South Africans have a plus eight goal difference, a convincing win would have at least closed the goal difference going into that game on Tuesday.