Nigeria Will Miss Out in Tough Group B

Continuing our preview of every team in the World Cup, Al Dannity says it pays to keep a keen eye on the make-up of the Nigerian squad as the 2010 World Cup nears.

How they got here
With another manager. Shaibu Amodu was sacked as manager despite leading the Super Eagles to a dramatic qualification. Nigeria began the campaign in comfortable style amassing a perfect record in their opening group phase.  The final stage proved a much trickier assignment for the Super Eagles. Despite going undefeated, Nigeria drew three of their opening five games. This meant that Tunisia held a two points advantage going into the final round of qualifiers.

Only a road win at Kenya would do for Nigeria but even then victory for Tunisia over Mozambique would knock the Super Eagles out of the World Cup. Both games were decided in the final 10 minutes. Obafemi Martins scored the decisive goal as Nigeria came from behind to beat Kenya 3-2 while Dario Monteiro’s goal gave Mozambique a 1-0 victory over Tunisia to put Nigeria on the plane to South Africa.

Who to watch
New manager Lars Lagerback merits the most attention. The Swede replaced Amodu, who also was fired before the 2002 World Cup, in February and has continued the necessary tradition for managers of Nigeria to put together huge training squads before settling on a panel. That said his squads bear little difference to those assembled by Amodu.

Given the sheer size of Nigeria’s population it’s no surprise that the nation’s talent is spread across the Europe, Nigeria, and even South Africa. Lagerback has a short time in which to assess his options so keep a close eye on his final squad before making any World Cup betting decisions.

There are some notable talents available to Lagerback. Chelsea midfielder John Mikel Obi headlines a team that also features Everton defender Jospeh Yobo, and attacking threats like Martins and the Portsmouth duo of John Utaka and Nwanku Kanu. No Nigerian player will cause nightmares for international opposition quite like Yakubu who has the all-time record for English Premier League goals by African players.

How they will perform
There are no easy groups to call in the World Cup but Group B is certainly the toughest. For all the sizeable squads Nigeria puts together for friendly games, there is a lack of talent in depth that should worry anyone looking at World Cup odds. The Super Eagles have a starting line-up that will be the envy of many at this competition but their lack of options on the bench, outside of the frontline, will be a handicap.

If Nigeria had Korea first, which is their best match-up, I might lean more favorably towards the Super Eagles but instead they must first deal with Argentina and Greece. With that in mind I’m going to have to put Nigeria on the outside looking in and failing to make the second phase.

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