Ex-internationals, Duke Udi and Benedict Akwuegbu, have both said the Super Eagles of Nigeria paid for the lack of creative midfielders in the 1-1 draw against Equatorial Guinea in their opening game of the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire. Nigeria came from a goal down to force their opponent to a 1-1 draw in the encounter with Victor Osimhen equalising minutes after Equatorial Guinea took the lead. Speaking with New Telegraph, while congratulating Alhassan Yusuf for a wonderful performance in the game, Udi said the team lacked a player that would supply the balls for the strikers to get the goals. “I have to say congratulations to Yusuf for that performance, he reminded me of Olofinjana and Garba Lawal, he has the same style as them, a good holding midfielder, but we need a creative midfielder,” he said. “We used two defensive midfielders against Equatorial Guinea which worked against the team, Frank Onyeka and Yusuf are both defensive midfielders and at the end, we don’t have any creative man in the middle that will dictate the midfield, someone that when the defensive midfielders receive the ball, they will be able to pass the ball to him just like we used to have with Jay Jay Okocha/ Sunday Oliseh we are missing such player at the moment, the player that will draw three players to himself, someone that when the ball gets to him, something must happen and that’s what we are missing in the team at the moment. “We don’t have a playmaker or creative midfielder that can supply the balls that will help us get the needed goals.”

He however said Cote d’Ivoire is beatable and the players must come out with their A game. According to the former Sunshine Stars coach, the Ivorien won’t come out to park the bus like Equatorial Guinea as most of them also played in Europe and both would be equal matches. While agreeing with Udi, Akwuegbu also said the coach should be playing with two strikers to put opponents under pressure. The former striker said with a creative midfielder and two strikers, Nigeria would have come out of the game with three to four goals Akwuegbu said: “We need creative midfielders, midfielders that can hold the ball, pass the ball, keep the ball for the team and pass to the strikers like Osimhen. “Osimhen can finish and he just needs to get the right supply and he will finish. If we want to win the title then we cannot continue to play without having a creative man in the middle. “Also, we cannot play with one striker upfront and if you want to win, it is not done. You need to put two strikers, put them under pressure from the blast of the whistle, they will make mistakes and you can get the goals. For me, the coach made a serious mistake.” Speaking further, Akwuegbu said there is no way the team can defeat a big team with the same pattern deployed against Equatorial Guinea. “With this type of game, we cannot beat any big team and everyone can see that we have the wrong tactics from the first game, we continue to make the same mistakes every day. “There are so many good players out there but we continue to invite players based on sentiments. The team I saw on Sunday is nothing to write home about. “Osimhen is a world-class striker and should be scoring like three to four goals in games, but he needs the midfielders that will give him the balls the same way they have been giving him in Italy. “We are blessed with a talisman like Osimhen, let us play with two strikers and good midfielders that will supply them with the right passes,” he said. Nigeria will play their second game against the host, Cote d’Ivoire on Thursday with anything short of win detrimental to the progress of the team.

Favourites Morocco bid to hit ground running

One of the heavily fancied Africa Cup of Nations favourites Morocco will get their campaign underway on Wednesday evening when they take on Tanzania at Stade de San Pedro. Group F also features two-time champions Congo DR and 2012 winners Zambia, who will face off in the other match in this group at this venue directly after the completion of this fixture. Fair to say, the Moroccans raised the bar for African football a little over a year ago at the 2022 World Cup, and the spotlight will now be on them to follow up in the continental competition, where they have a relatively disappointing track record. After withdrawing from the 2022 African Nations Championship due to travel problems, Morocco were given a reality check last June, with two matches tempering the soaring euphoria of their World Cup semi-final achievement in Qatar. The first was a goalless draw to Cape Verde, followed by a 2-1 loss to South Africa in qualifying for this competition, while a final wake-up call came after they were held to a 1-1 draw by the Ivory Coast in October. Following that result, head coach Walid Regragui pointed out that he felt that the Atlas Lions were not the favourites to win the AFCON, but they won each of the three proceeding matches against Liberia (3-0), Tanzania (2-0) and Sierra Leone (3-1) last week. Morocco have only lifted the AFCON trophy once in their history, back in 1976, but with one of the most impressive lineups on paper, this feels like their moment, and they will be under immense pressure to make a statement against a favourable opponent in their opening match on Wednesday evening. Meanwhile, Tanzania come into this competition ranked 31st among African footballing nations according to FIFA and are the biggest outsiders to qualify for the knockout stages from Group F. The Taifa Stars are set to make their third appearance in the AFCON, having previously participated in the 1980 and 2019 editions. Their last stint in the tournament saw them facing defeats in all three of their matches. However, under the leadership of Algerian coach Adel Amrouche, expectations are high that the Taifa Stars will showcase an improved performance compared to their previous outing, albeit that they will likely be targeting Congo DR and Zambia as matches they could take something from.

Congo DR, Zambia in battle of dark horses

The first round of matches in the Africa Cup of Nations will draw to a close when Congo DR face off against Zambia at Stade de San Pedro on Wednesday evening. Group F looks like it could be a difficult one to navigate for these two and features African powerhouse Morocco and the plucky Tanzania, who will contest the other match in this group at this venue earlier in the day. Congo DR have slipped from the spotlight in recent years and will come into this year’s tournament hopeful of lifting the AFCON title for the first time in five decades. The Leopards have earned two continental titles in their storied history, with the last triumph coming back in 1974 when they were still known as Zaire, while their previous victory was earned in 1968. In more recent times, Congo have struggled to make an impact on the continental stage, suffering three group-stage exits since 2000 and failing to qualify for three consecutive Africa Cup of Nations tournaments between 2008 and 2012. They were in real danger of missing out on this year’s competition as well, as they lost their first two qualifying matches, which led to the sacking of Hector Cuper, but that seemed to have marked something of a turning point for the side.