With Nigeria links growing by the week for Pitso Mosimane, we thought we would look at the elite forward line he would inherit should he get that job and why their attack rivals the likes of Brazil and France.
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Current Super Eagles boss Jose Peseiro has come under increasing scrutiny ever since taking the reins of the three-time Africa Cup of Nations winners. Most recently, failure to win any of their opening 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers has led to calls for the Portuguese tactician to be sacked.
That outcome seems a dream for the time being as the next AFCON in the Ivory Coast is on the horizon, and the Nigeria Football Federation will have learnt from the dismissal of Gernot Rohr on the eve of the previous edition of the continental showpiece. However, one could look at the west Africans' struggles over the past couple of years and wonder: How does a team blessed with such immense attacking talent struggle?
At Peseiro's disposal is the recently crowned 2023 CAF Men's Player of the Year, Victor Osimhen. The 24-year-old has been incredible for club and country since 2022, and saw his efforts being rewarded by being crowned the best footballer from Africa earlier this week in Morocco. The Lagos native, however, is not the only Nigerian who has been in fine form over the course of the past two years, with the likes of Terem Moffi, Victor Boniface and Taiwo Awoniyi having also been lighting Europe up with their respective double-digit hauls in their 2022/23 campaigns.
Gift Orban is another name that has seemingly emerged out of nowhere and his performances for Gent in Belgium and in the UEFA Europa Conference League have put a massive spotlight on the 21-year-old. Peseiro even called up the young attacker for their final AFCON qualifier against Sao Tome and Principe.
The Nigerian wings are littered with even more talent, with the likes of Ademola Lookman and Samuel Chukwueze having increased their prominence in Europe over the past year. Lookman has proved a force for Gian Piero Gasperini's Atalanta side since joining last season, while Chukwueze followed his compatriot to Serie A when he completed a move to AC Milan this past off-season following a prolific campaign with Villarreal in 2022/23. Bayer Leverkusen's Nathan Tella and Nantes' Moses Simon are also quality wingers at the Super Eagles' disposal.
Kelechi Iheanacho and Umar Sadiq, meanwhile, are prominent features at Leicester City and Real Sociedad, respectively.
France, Brazil, Portugal, Argentina and England are the only other sides that come to mind when thinking of nations that can boast attacks that are as formidable as the Nigerians', if not better.
Unlike the aforementioned European and South American nations, Nigeria do not have the same strength in depth in other areas of the pitch, so their team is very top-heavy. They remind one a lot of the Real Madrid Galacticos of the mid-2000s where there was massive quality up front, but a lack of quality behind them that hampered the Spanish giants from truly being a successful side.
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The same is true for Peseiro's men. Their attack is world-class and while their defence can be regarded as decent, it is their midfield that is not the best. Previous boss Rohr struggled to create a system that could constantly and cohesively get the ball to the attackers and ultimately failed, and now the former Sporting CP manager has encountered the same issue his German counterpart did.
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