Super Eagles begin 2018 World Cup preparation on victory note, shoot down Poland in front of home fans News

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Super Eagles begin 2018 World Cup preparation on victory note, shoot down Poland in front of home fans

By Daily Sports on March 24, 2018

Victor Moses’ penalty was enough for Nigeria to kick off their pre-World Cup programme with a 1-0 victory over Poland at the Municipal Stadium, Wroclaw on Friday.

The Chelsea man won and then converted a 61st-minute spot kick to extend the Super Eagles’ impressive form under Gernot Rohr, a run which has seen the West Africans lose just once during the German’s managerial reign.

The Eagles lined-up with a largely familiar team, although Rohr answered pre-match speculation about the identity of his first-choice goalkeeper by handing teenager Francis Uzoho his first international start.

The Nigerians started the first half the brighter of the two sides in a physical contest, but the best chance of the half fell to Poland, with Willian Troost-Ekong clearing what seemed a certain goal off the line before the break.

It was the first of a series of questionable and nervy moments for the 19-year-old Uzoho, who often appeared indecisive with his positioning and decision-making.

However, the Deportivo La Coruna youngster redeemed himself with two big saves against Polish captain Robert Lewandowski, on a day in which the prolific forward was largely neutralised by the hardworking central defence pairing of Troost-Ekong and Leon Balogun.

The decisive moment arrived on the hour mark when Moses, who was largely under-par for the duration of the game, skipped past two markers before been brought down by Marcin Kaminski in the box.

The Chelsea wing-back stepped up to tuck away his 11th international goal, executing a superb penalty which left goalkeeper Bartosz Bialkowski rooted to the spot.

The Poles responded by upping the ante, and almost equalised when Artur Jedrzejczyk’s goal-bound header appeared to take a slight touch off Uzoho. The onslaught on the Eagles’ goal continued, with Grzegorz Krychowiak looking the biggest threat to pull a leveller for the hosts.

In the end, the Super Eagles held on for a win, and will be confident of building on that impressive result when they face Serbia in London on Tuesday.

•Credit (except headline): Kwese.espn.com. Photo shows Odion Ighalo (L) celebrating with goal scorer Victor Moses. Photo: Kabiru Abubakar/fotodezamora

Source Daily Sports

Posted March 24, 2018