5 reasons why Nigeria is rated 3rd worst team at the World Cup
Following the lethargic 2-0 loss to Croatia in their opening game of the 2018 World Cup, the Super Eagles have been adjudged as the 29th best of the 32 teams participating at the World Cup after the first round of games.
British newspaper Daily Telegraph, in an appraisal of all the teams, rated Nigeria as only better than Saudi Arabia which lost the opening game of the competition 5-0 to host country Russia and debutants Panama who lost 3-0 to Belgium.
The appraisal was based upon the underlying reasons:
Horrible performance from a group of players:
One of the reasons given for rating Nigeria as one of the worst teams in the world cup include a horrible performance from a group of players who didn’t seem to grasp quite how important their opening game at the World Cup was.
No urgency to score goals:
Nigerian players were blamed for a non lackadaisical attitude to score goals in their opening match against Croatia which made them concede a 2-0 defeat in the hands of the Croatians.
Managerial Lapses:
Very obvious managerial lapses were displayed in the opening match against Croatia. It was not known if it was the manager’s fault or the fault of the players.
There was an isolated striker and full-backs who weren’t ready to get forward. Nigeria should be so much better than this.
Team spirit:
Absence of team spirit was discovered in the match compared to Spain and Portugal, who played out an enthralling 3-3 draw.
Lack of focus:
Nigeria supporters were disappointed due to lack of focus in the opening match.
“Our players were losing focus in key moments of the match, it was a complete mystery and very frustrating,” a football fan told the publication.
