CHAN 16: Tenacious Guinea a stern test for Nigeria's credentials

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The Syli Nationale simply do not know when they are beaten, and will push the Eagles to the limit in Rubavu.

Sunday Oliseh was forthright in the appraisal of Nigeria's performance following Friday’s draw against Tunisia—the performance was poor. It may have been the Carthage Eagles who equalised after falling behind, but for large spells, the Eagles seemed unable to get close to them.

CHAN 16: Five things Nigeria must do vs. Guinea

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It showed the excited anointing of this team as favourites following the drubbing of Niger to be premature. The irony, of course, is that having shown themselves so resoundingly superior, Tunisia may not even do enough to progress.

They owe this to their own profligacy in the final third, a trait that is becoming worryingly Tunisian, but also to the hardiness of Guinea. The Syli Nationale, making their debut in the CHAN, have left their calling card in two encounters in Kigali: a fierce determination to fight to the end, and exemplary fitness levels.

Both games involving Guinea have been high-scoring, end-to-end four-goal draws, and they seem to thrive when chasing a lead, thereby narrowing their focus. It is often characteristic of debutants: unsure whether to simply savour the ride, they play with no real purpose, seeming to only produce their best when there is a definite objective in view – in this case, getting back on level terms.

However, the nature of the group means the Guineans are in good stead to actually make it through themselves. All they have to do is match Tunisia’s result on Tuesday.

Has the draw with Tunisia tempered expectations in the Nigeria camp?

Standing in their way is a Nigerian side which will look to play on the front foot, having suffered through the game against Tunisia. There has been an uncharacteristic vulnerability at the heart of the Super Eagles defence, and it may not be unconnected to the chopping and changing that has, of necessity, gone on at the heart of the backline: in neither of Nigeria’s two games has the team seen out the match with the same central-defensive pairing that started it.

Oliseh also has a headache upfront, with tournament top scorer Chisom Chikatara reportedly a doubt. The Abia Warriors forward did not live up to the already impossibly high standards he set in the previous game, but did manage to add to his tally against Tunisia.

In his absence, Tunde Adeniji could return to the starting XI; it's instructive to note, however, that, for the first time since the qualifying rounds, there was no striker swap in the Tunisia game; an indication Oliseh does not see them necessarily as a tag-team, but was simply undecided. Chikatara has played himself into consistency, but what sort of impact might it have on Adeniji’s confidence?

However, this is not a game Nigeria need to win—a draw will suffice, albeit the loss of momentum might be a worry going into the quarter-finals. Beating only the weakest side in the group might do for progression, but not for confidence; it is arguably in a game that Oliseh need not win that he certainly must!