They say that there are some things in life that are certainties. These include death, taxes and the fact that Nigeria will draw Argentina in the group stage of the World Cup, this is the case once again for the fifth time in sixth appearances for the Super Eagles but this time they come into the tournament with hopes of reaching the knockout stages.
The other opponents for Nigeria in Russia this summer will be Croatia and Iceland with a sense that there will be a three-way fight for a team to come second behind Argentina.
In previous World Cup tournaments, we have seen Nigeria make headlines more for what happened off the pitch than for their performances on it. Disagreements between players or even sometimes between players and officials have distracted the squad at a time when they should have been purely focused on their performances.
With a relatively young squad, this time around there is a sense of togetherness and unity that could well make them difficult opponents during the tournament.
Squad
Coach Gernot Rohr
The German coach is perhaps best known in Europe for leading French side Bordeaux to the UEFA cup final in 1996. You may well have expected that to lead to more prolonged success in Europe but instead, the German moved across to Europe and spent time as coach of nations like Gabon, Niger and Burkina Faso before finally being appointed as head coach of Nigeria in 2016.
He has a settled tactical approach with Nigeria likely to play in a 4-2-3-1 structure with the freedom given to the three players behind the forward. The two holding midfielders are more disciplined giving Nigeria a solid defensive structure.
Goalkeepers
Daniel Akpeyi, Francis Uzoho, Ikechukwu Ezenwa
Defenders
William Ekong, Leon Balogun, Kenneth Omeruo, Bryan Idowu, Chidozie Awaziem, Abdullahi Shehu, Elderson Echiejile, Tyronne Ebuehi
Midfielders
John Mikel Obi, Ogenyi Onazi, John Ogu, Wilfred Ndidi, Oghenekaro Etebo, Joel Obi, Alex Iwobi, Victor Moses
Forwards
Odion Ighalo, Ahmed Musa, Kelechi Iheanacho, Simeon Nwankwo
Tactics
The midfield block for Nigeria is one of the keys to their defensive structure. With two players keeping in close contact they effectively look to prevent the opposition from playing into the central areas of the final third or from playing through balls in central areas that their forwards can chase.
The two will generally remain relatively static in the centre of the field but if the opposition manages to create overloads in wide areas then expect to see the strong sided midfielder (ball side) move across to deal with the threat.
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