Peseiro advised to include Iheanacho in the lineup due to excessive pressure on Osimhen
On Monday, Benedict Akwuegbu, a silver medalist in the 2000 African Cup of Nations (AFCON), urged the inclusion of Leicester City player Kelechi Iheanacho in the Super Eagles team for their quarter-final match against Angola on Friday.
He suggested that Peseiro should consider utilizing Iheanacho's midfield talents.
Benedict Akwuegbu, a silver medalist in the 2000 African Cup of Nations (AFCON), urged the inclusion of Leicester City player Kelechi Iheanacho in the Super Eagles team for their upcoming quarter-final match against Angola on Friday. Akwuegbu expressed this viewpoint in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday, advising Peseiro to leverage Iheanacho's midfield skills.
Reflecting on the team's performance against the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon, Akwuegbu remarked, “The Super Eagles of Nigeria performed well beyond what we expected. They have the talents; they just need to play more cohesively as a team and solidify the midfield. With this team, Nigeria can advance far in the tournament and possibly emerge victorious."
He further emphasized, “In my opinion, the Super Eagles require Iheanacho's experience to alleviate the goal-scoring burden on Victor Osimhen. When people discuss Osimhen not scoring, I argue that the pressure is too much on him."
“Osimhen is an excellent individual with a natural goal-scoring instinct; his creative contributions to the team have been commendable thus far, but the strain on him as a lone striker is overwhelming.”
Akwuegbu stressed the necessity of having Iheanacho in the team: “I believe the team requires Iheanacho to alleviate the pressure on Osimhen. Playing with a lone striker and having Osimhen at the forefront has subjected him to immense pressure.
“Iheanacho is the ideal player who can operate behind Osimhen, or even as an attacking midfielder.”
"Throughout our successful AFCON campaigns, we often employed two strikers, be it during Rashidi Yekini's era or in 2013 when we had Brown Ideye and Emmanuel Emenike.
“If Osimhen is provided with more space to maneuver against Angola, the goal-scoring responsibility will be distributed. We stand to gain by utilizing either two strikers or deploying an attacking midfielder with a goal-scoring instinct,” he remarked.
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