Odion Ighalo was the goodluck charm of Argentina and destroyer of the Nigerian World Cup dream. I am not sure what the coach sees in him. First match with Croatia, he was a disaster, roaming upfront as a long ranger too short to get high balls, too slow to contest for balls with a work rate and poor fitness level that made him give a non-starter performance. We lost that match.
Second match with Iceland. Coach brings him in as a late sub. Thank God, Ahmed Musa had already netted the two winning goals. He roamed like a slow coach until the end of the match delivering nothing.
Crucial third match with Argentina. Yet the coach for some crazy reason that will never be inexplicable to me, sends Ighalo in as half time sub. When that happened, I lost confidence and announced right then that it would be a miracle if we draw or win the match to qualify and go through to the next round.
And true to type, Ighalo’s major contributions on the pitch was shooting wide of an open net from inside the 18 box and losing the first juicy clear goal offer. Then shooting straight at the goal keeper from again inside the 18-yard box to lose a second clean goal opportunity. Thereafter he roamed lazily, all motion but no movement until our gallant boys (the other ten players) were done in by Argentina’s second goal.
Amazingly, golden boy, Musa appeared relegated to delivering throws, playing second fiddle and delivering balls to the non performing Ighalo.
Whatever other opinions others may have, I hold the coach and his favorite 10% work rate, non performer responsible for our loss to Argentina and putting the nail on the coffin of our dream. That referee also reinforced our woes with his foolishness. So says I.
Source: Facebook