Scouting Nigeria

Nigeria qualified top of their African group and thus had a favorable playoff draw against minnows, Ethiopia in which they won 4-1 on aggregate. The African champions are expected to qualify from a group that contains Argentina, Bosnia and Iran by fans and many of our hopes will be put on Emmanuel Emenike and Victor Moses to get us through.

The Likely line-up

————————Enyeama——————-
Ambrose – Oboabona – Omeruo – Echiejile
——————Onazi ——- Mikel ——————
Musa —– Oduamadi/Ideye/Odemwingie – Moses
———————– Emenike———————-

The Prospects
Nigeria play a cagey possession-oriented style which has been criticised due to the lack of goals it has yielded. Nigeria only scored 11 times from eight qualifiers but the style has produced excellent defensive results, conceding just four goals whilst keeping four clean sheets. Nigeria's opening match with Iran will surely produce points for those who invest, whilst the game against Bosnia also holds potential. The final game against Argentina will be difficult but don't count them out.

The Likely Lads
Vincent Enyeama – The Lille keeper was in remarkable form for his club, keeping 21 clean sheets out of 35 games including a run of 11 consecutive clean sheets on his way to winning the best keeper award in Ligue 1. Look for Enyeama to rack up saves in Brazil. He also has experience in stopping Messi and co as this youtube movie highlights.

Echiejile – The left-back has good potential for attacking points with his forays into the opponents half. He also takes an occasional free-kick with his thunderbolt left foot.

John Obi Mikel – Known as a defensive midfielder at Chelsea, he plays more of a box-to-box role for Nigeria where produces assists for teammates. With his share of set-pieces, Mikel could be an interesting option in midfield.

Victor Moses – Despite featuring rarely for Liverpool, Moses remains a key player for Nigeria. His four goals at the Africa Cup of Nations helped win the tournament for us and he also scored a couple in qualifying. It's worth noting four of those goals were from the spot so with penalties in his locker, Moses could be another decent option.

Emmanuel Emenike – Our best player by some distance, Emenike boasts an excellent international goalscoring record of 10 in 21 games. Known for his pace and power, Emenike finished the top scorer at ACON and scored three in qualifying. With opening games against Iran and Bosnia, he must surely be worth a look-in.