The Nigerian male football team to the 2016 Rio Olympics, fondly called Dream Team VI, early hours of Friday defeated Japan 5-4 to record their first victory at the games.
The victory came to many Nigerians and the world at large as a surprise considering the difficulty the coach Samson Siasia-led team passed through before arriving Brazil.
Reports say the Dream Team VI, as the team is fondly called, arrived venue of the match, Manaus, northern Brazil, just six hours before kick off.
In spite of the odds against them, the embattled team managed to overcome a very resolute Japanese team in a highly pulsating encounter to top their group.
The Man-of-the-Match, Oghenekaro Etebo scored four out of the five Nigeria’s goals while Sadiq Umar scored the first goal for Nigeria in the 6th minute.
Below are seven things we learned from the match:
1. Mikel played a deeper role upfront: The captain was fielded in an unusual role upfront playing behind Oghenekaro Etebo while Azubike played in Mikel’s natural holding midfield position.
However, the formation changed as the Chelsea midfielder played in central midfield to allow Sadiq Umar torment the Japanese defense when Nigeria was on the attack.
2. Good passing game: The Dream Team VI had good string of passes in the midfield which made their opponents to wear out fast. After a shaky first half, the U-23 totally dominated proceedings in the midfield which led to the goals scored in the second half and the eventual win.
3. Strength and skill: It was evident through out the match that the Nigerian team could not match the Japanese team in terms of technical abilities. But what they lacked in techniques, the Dream Team VI players have it in skills, pace and strength. For most of the match, the U-23 team used their physical strength to out-muscle their opponents.
4. porous back line: One thing that would be giving coaches of the Dream Team VI grey hairs is the poor understanding in the team’s back line. The Nigerian defense was caught napping several times during the encounter with Japan. This resulted in the silly goals they conceded after being 5-2 up.
Too many mistakes were made in the back line. This would have to be look into before their next match on Sunday against Sweden.
5. Leadership: The Siasia-led squad had a feel of leadership on and off the field of play as Mikel humbly gave the penalty kick to Etebo and also handing over the captain’s arm band to Azubuike when he was substituted late-on. As seen on the touch line, there was unity in the team as Siasia and his backroom staff were in control of the team despite the troubles experienced before getting to Brazil.
6. Delta Airline saving grace: After the players were unable to book on a flight to Rio, Delta Air Lines stepped in to provide the team with a charter flight. This averted Nigeria the embarrassment of missing their first match and ultimately being penalized by IOC. The company has been promoting its role in saving the Nigerian squad.
7. Show of shame by Sports Ministry: The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Solomon Dalung, hours before the match disassociated himself and the Federal Government from the pre-tournament camping trip to the USA embarked upon by the Dream Team VI.
Dalung, who surprisingly described the trip as a human trafficking venture, maintained that his ministry and by extension the Federal Government knew nothing about the trip. He insisted that the team’s suffering and threat to throw them out of hotel in US was news to him. This, to many, is a show of shame from the sports ministry.
Below is a video of how the Dream Team VI left their training camp in Atalanta to Brazil:
