In the end, it proved to be too easy.
The Super Eagles bulldozed their way past Algeria, winning 2-0 on the back of goals by Victor Osimhen and strike partner Akor Adams to make their way into a record 16th Africa Cup of Nations semifinal appearance.
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Such was the dominance of their performance that not only did the Nigerians hog an overwhelming 70 percent of the possession, but Algeria had also no shot on goal for the entire first half.
Eric Sekou Chelle appears to have found his best starting lineup, and he sent them out again unchanged. They did not disappoint.
The Super Eagles were on the front foot from the get-go, leaving Algeria precious little time or space with their intense high press and speed of attack.
In the first half, Osimhen had multiple headers, so did Semi Ajayi. Akor Adams’s had the best chance up until that point when he was through on goal with only goalkeeper Luka Zidane to beat but fluffed his lines spectacularly.
It was Osimhen who opened the scoring for Nigeria not long after the break. The Galatasaray striker showed almost superhuman elevation to rise and meet Bruno Onyemaechi perfectly-delivered ball. Even as he stretched every sinew, he still had the presence of mind to guide the ball down and past the hulking figure that was Zidane.
Akor added a second ten minutes later, in a wonderfully worked team goal that started from Alex Iwobi’s line-breaker to Osimhen, who unselfishly found Akor in space. This time the Sevilla forward made no mistake.
Pressure makes diamonds
Chaos? What chaos? There may have been some concerns that after the turbulent week they had had, with threatened strikes over bonus payments, and the on-field spat between Osimhen on the one hand and Ademola Lookman and Onyemaechi on the other.
All of that was nowhere to be seen as the team weaved skein after composed skein around the flummoxed Algerians, who looked for all the world, like they were the ones who had had to battle discord coming into the game.
Anyone who thought the issues between Osimhen and Lookman would linger only need look at the aftermath of Adams’ goal. As soon as the Sevilla man scored, Lookman did not run to Akor but straight at Osimhen, pointing in the direction of the Gala man and both ran together to the celebrate with the goalscorer.
Nigeria’s Victor Osimhen celebrates his goal against Algeria with Ademola Lookman. Photo by SEBASTIEN BOZON / AFP via Getty Images
But this should have been no surprise. Pushing through headwinds is exactly the sort of mental fortitude that Nigerians are made of. No matter the chaos going on around them, they almost always seem to find a way to turn it into success. And not for the first time.
A perfect example of their ability to thrive amidst chaos was the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, where they team were almost stranded in Atlanta and needed Delta Airlines to step in and assist them get to Brazil. They arrived on the morning of their opening game and promptly won a thrilling 5-4 victory over Japan.
The Super Eagles many have a tendency for self-destruction, but previous experience shows that they skirt dangerously close to the edge of the cliff, they have an extreme sports athlete’s talent to stop just short of the edge while keeping fans on the edge of their seats.
Perhaps what may have made it even better was the fact that the owed win bonuses hit their accounts on Thursday nights as a Nigeria Sports Commission official told ESPN on Saturday.
Chelle shows pragmatism
Chelle has taken plenty of flak for his decisions with the Super Eagles through his short term as coach, and not totally unjustified, either, as even the coach himself admitted that he made mistakes.
For a young coach in only his second international job, that is no surprise. However, Chelle appears to be learning and making improvements in real time.
He showed his much-improved chops against Algeria, first by recognising that the North Africans style depended on their own press, keeping the possession and making sure that his team gave them no time on the ball at all from the first minute. The strategy left the Desert Foxes rattled and they never recovered.
Chelle then showed quick thinking when captain Wilson Ndidi was yellow-carded while being subbed for an injury, meaning he would be suspended for the semifinal against Morocco. With Frank Onyeka, Ndidi’s likely replacement in the holding role also on a yellow from the game against Mozambique, Chelle quickly subbed him off as well to prevent losing two of his best midfielders for a crucial semifinal game.
He could have brought on a like for like replacement in Fisayo Dele-Bashiru. Instead, seeing the adjustments made by Algeria’s Vladimir Petkovic in bringing on Baghdad Bounedjah, Adil Boulbina and Anis Hadj Moussa, which suggested that the Algeria coach had abandoned any attempt to fight for the central areas and was moving instead to attacking the wide areas, Chelle chose to introduce Moses Simon to provide additional cover in those areas.
Towards the end, with the game almost won, Chelle decided to take the pragmatic route and bunker down. He took off his star players, Lookman, Osimhen and Osayi-Samuel to give them some much-needed rest and threw on a defensive unit to hold out for the win.
Another clean sheet
At the beginning of the tournament, and in fact for most of the early part of his tenure, Chelle’s Super Eagles could not buy themselves a clean sheet, even against the weakest of opposition.
Here in Morocco, they gave up goals to Tanzania, Tunisia and Uganda, before finally holding out against Mozambique. In fact, it was the fear of giving up a late goal that forced Calvin Bassey into earning the yellow card he picked up in the Mozambique game.
Facing a team that was second only to Nigeria in scoring during the group phase, and the stingiest in defence, it was not far-fetched to expect they might let in at least one. But this defence was not having it. They started defending all the way from up top with their press. Everyone pressed hard, pressed quickly, pressed in unison. On average, they appeared to win the ball within five seconds of losing it.
0:38
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And on the rare occasions when the Algerians got into the final third, they were not allowed a shot.
As the cherry on top, Bassey, who was on a yellow card and in danger of missing the semifinal in the event of another caution, saw all ninety minutes without a card. Huge positive for Chelle and Nigeria.
The entire defence — Bassey, Ajayi, Bright Osayi-Samuel and Onyemaechi — were phenomenal. Bassey was particularly imperious and Onyemaechi’s crossing was impeccable, providing the assist for Osimhen’s goal.
The forward won the man of the match award, but both Osayi-Samuel and Bassey had more than fair shouts for it.
Osayi-Samuel shows his calibre
Ola Aina who? Just kidding. Coming into this tournament, defence was expected to be Nigeria’s big Achilles heel. Captain and leader William Troost-Ekong retired and his replacement, the young and exciting Benjamin Fredrick, who could slot in both at right back and centre back, was ruled out with injury. Regular right back Ola Aina had been injured during the World Cup qualifiers and returned to the field too late to make the squad.
Chelle called up Blackburn Rovers’ Ryan Alebiosu as cover, but he was untested at the international level.
Having been dogged by a bit of criticism of his play coming into the competition, Osayi-Samuel showed why he was neck and neck with Ola Aina at one point before taking a dip in his form.
Bright Osayi-Samuel. Photo by Abu Adem Muhammed/Anadolu via Getty Images
The defender has been great all tournament long, but this was his best performance. Against a supposedly strong opposition, nothing went past him, and he attacked with just as much verve. The way he handled Riyadh Mahrez all game clearly showed his calibre.
Aina will have a hard time walking into the team now. He will have to keep a close eye on that left back position as his more likely route back into the lineup, but that is assuming Onyemaechi even leaves the door open.
More record tumble
Their two goals on Saturday meant that they became the highest scoring Nigeria side ever at an African Nations Cup with 14 goals, two more than the previous record held by the 2000 team, which featured legends like Austin Okocha, Nwankwo Kanu, Victor Ikpeba and Sunday Oliseh, amongst others.
They also became the first team to score two or more goals in at least five games at the Africa Cup of Nations, and the first to win five straight games at the AFCON.
There’s more. Through five games, they have dominated possession against every team they have played against, racking up a 63-37 percent average possession, including a near unbelievable 71-29 percent possession over Uganda.
In addition, midfielder Alex Iwobi has been near unplayable. Not only is his press-resistant possession and passing key to Nigeria’s ball-keeping ability, but the Fulham midfielder has also made a remarkable 47 line-breaking passes and has been involved in almost every goal the team has scored so far. It has been an offensive masterclass from the Super Eagles all tournament long, but they have added defense to it in the last two games.
Oleku, tell me something dis team no fit do…
Coach Chelle deserves every last accolade that comes his way. He is on his way to Clemens Westerhof status if he keeps this up.
