The glamour friendly between Nigeria and Argentina on Tuesday is poised to be a keenly contested clash despite the absence of five-time Ballon D’Or winner, Lionel Messi.
The Barcelona star was excused from the showdown by national team boss Jorge Sampaoli but with superstars like Sergio Aguero, Pablo Dybala, Mauro Icardi and John Mikel Obi, it promises to be mind-blowing in Krasnodar, Russia.
Here are the five things we expect to happen during the encounter:
1. Debuts for Brian Idowu and Francis Uzoho: The goalkeeping and left back positions are still up for grabs in the Super Eagles and both players will do well to stake their claims for shirt ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Uzoho, 19, who currently plays club football for La Liga side Deportivo La Coruna stands at an incredible 196cm and already tipped for a great future following some fine displays for his Spanish club in his breakthrough season.
And in Sergio Aguero, Mauro Icardi and Paulo Dybala – he will face some of the top marksmen in world football if selected ahead of Daniel Akpeyi in goal after manager Gernot Rohr confirmed that Ikechukwu Ezenwa won’t be involved following his below par showing against Algeria last Friday.
Amkar Perm star, Brian Idowu is the latest addition to the Super Eagles and he will feel more at home because he is based in Russia and speaks the language fluently.
However, the game against Argentina may prove to be a baptism of fire for the 25-year-old if picked for the encounter as he will be up against tricky wingers like Angel di Maria and Diego Perotti.
2. Mikel the ‘stabilize’: Super Eagles captain, Mikel Obi is the most experienced player in the current squad and if he starts as expected – it will be his 80th cap for the three-times Africa champions.
The absence of the 30-year-old was felt during the 1-1 draw against Algeria in the final Group B game of the 2018 World Cup qualifier as the midfield lacked cohesion and craved for the calmness and guile of the former Chelsea gem.
Mikel will be vital against Argentina. He will need to control the game and not allow the duo of Ever Banega and Eduardo Salvio run the show from the middle.
3. Ogu to continue his solid form: Hapoel Beer Sheva’s midfield maestro, John Ogu has been playing the best football of his career in the last three seasons.
He was voted the Best Foreign Player in the Israeli league during the 2016/17 season and he helped the club win the domestic title back-to-back.
The 29-year-old has been knocking on the doors of the Super Eagles for quite some time with Ogenyi Onazi, Mikel Agu and Wilfred Ndidi ahead of him in the midfield pecking order.
After injuries kept Onazi and Agu out of the Algerian match with Mikel Obi rested – he was handed a rare chance in the starting XI and he grabbed his chance with a Match-of-the-Match display and capped his brilliant show with a spectacular finish from almost 35yards.
4. Dybala to fill in for Messi: In Argentina’s last friendly against Russia, it was Sergio Aguero that scored the only goal of the game but Lionel Messi ran the show with his incisive touches.
La Albiceleste will miss the services of arguably the best footballer in modern history but his absence is a huge opportunity for Juventus mercurial forward Paulo Dybala to stir the ship for the South Americans.
The 23-year-old is regarded as the future of Argentinean football and he has begun the 2017/18 season in blistering form, scoring 11 times in 12 Serie A matches before the international break.
Dybala is likely to operate behind Sergio Aguero and provide a quality test for the Super Eagles ‘Oyinbo wall’ Leon Balogun and William Ekong.
5. Eagles squad depth: Going to the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Nigeria will require a solid 23-man team, so squad depth will be important.
Against Argentina, fringe players like Henry Onyekuru, Kayode Olarenwaju, Chidozie Awaziem, Tyronne Ebuehi, Uche Agbo, and Kenneth Omeuro may get their chance to impress the manager, Gernot Rohr.
It will be important to see how many players will take the opportunity to claim a spot in the final World Cup bound team.
TOY is a Nigerian internet entrepreneur and blogger,writer, Modelling Agent, web designer, software developer, who was born in Nigeria.
He is a memeber of THE BRAINY WORLD ENTERTAINMENT And founder of a popular internet blog Called
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