Super Eagles player ratings: Ndidi fairly solid; Awaziem stars; Onuachu, Iheanacho fail to deliver; Okoye not tested

 
The Nigeria team started well but their opponents asserted themselves a lot more in the game.

Allnigeriasoccer.com's Izuchukwu Okosi rates the performance of the Eagles stars in Vienna.

The Starters

Goalkeeper

Maduka Okoye : The Sparta Rotterdam shotstopper made a smart save early on in the game but was let down by his defence for the goal scored by Zambo Anguissa. He was however not tested in the second half of the game. 6/10.

Defenders

Shehu Abdullahi : The right back was guilty of losing possession of the ball a lot of times especially in the first half. When he darted forward to support the attack, it was promising but his defensive work was poor. 5/10.

Jamilu Collins : The Paderborn left back made a case for himself for more playing time in the team, taking opportunity of the absence of Zaidu Sanusi to produce an inspired performance. 7/10.

William Troost-Ekong : He was guilty of a lackadaisical clearance which Andre Zambo Anguissa pounced on to fire his team ahead. He let fly a rasping shot from a well-rehearsed free-kick and executed some decent defending after that howler.  6/10.

Chidozie Awaziem : Boavista of Portugal defender Chidozie Awaziem took no prisoners as he had a great game on Friday evening thwarting the goal scoring chances created by the opponents. Lucky not to have been penalized for a handball. 8/10.

Midfielders and Strikers

Wilfred Ndidi : The Leicester City midfielder practically played a double job of protecting the central defence from his defensive midfield position and carrying the ball out into the enemy territory.

Always has a good game for the Super Eagles and Friday evening was no different. 7.5/10.

Oghenekaro Etebo : The Galatasaray of Turkey midfielder was his usual strong presence in the middle of the park albeit not definitely his best game for the team. 6.5/10.

Alex Iwobi : The nephew of Austin Jay-Jay Okocha was supposed to be the team's playmaker but he noticeably drifted a lot to the wings. Iwobi had a lot of the ball but his final balls could have been better. Hopefully he gets a better outing on Tuesday. 6/10.

Kelechi Iheanacho : He should have done better with the numerous goal chances he was privileged to get. His two second half efforts went wide off target. He was however involved in a few nice link up play. 6/10.

Moses Simon : The Nantes winger was his usual bursting self and in the first half delivered a delicious cross for Paul Onuachu which the latter failed to deliver. 7/10.

Paul Onuachu : The Genk striker was presented with numerous opportunities to restore parity for the Super Eagles but he was profligate in front of goal albeit his massive upper body strength was a source of threat to the Cameroonians. 5/10.

The Substitutes

Terem Moffi : The new boy in the team made his international debut and although he could not get much possession of the ball, showed he can match the steely Cameroonian back line with some muscles. More to assess about him if he plays on Tuesday. 4/10.

Ahmed Musa : The captain of the team was brought on in the second half and showed flashes of brilliance 5/10.

Peter Olayinka : Brought on in the closing stages of the game and won a free kick for the Eagles - his one meaningful contribution in the team for Nigeria. 4/10.

Anayo Iwuala : The Enyimba winger showed his deft touches on the ball with the limited time he was on the pitch. Will be nice to see him handed more minutes. 5/10.

Abraham Marcus : The newbie came on in the 86th minute but had just few touches of the ball. Cannot be rated.

Valentine Ozornwafor : In the 89th minute, the former Flying Eagles star came on in place of William Troost Ekong. Cannot be rated.

Izuchukwu Okosi