The Super Eagles take on neighbors Benin at the Stade Charles de Gaulle stadium (Porto Novo) in a crucial AFCON group L qualifier later today at 17:00 CAT.
A win will seal Nigeria’s place at the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon and they will then face Lesotho in their final qualifying game in Lagos three days later.
In Victor Osimhen, Kelechi Iheanacho, and Paul Onuachu, Nigeria have three clinical finishers in the squad all with different characteristics.
The 4-2-3-1 formation which accommodates a lone center-forward has been Gernot Rohr’s preferred formation for most of his tenure with the Eagles.
Onuachu, despite having a great individual season with Genk, is an outside bet to start given his struggles with the national team.
Osimhen is Rohr’s designated first-choice striker and boasts five goals in ten appearances for Nigeria.
However, his club form heading into national duty leaves more to be desired.
He has scored just three goals all season for Napoli in what has been a tough start to life in Italy for him.
Iheanacho meanwhile is brimming with confidence having scored seven goals in his last four matches for Leicester City, taking his tally to 12 for the season.
Dropping him at this point in his current form is near impossible. The real issue is how does Rohr fit him into his starting 11?
Therein, the German tactician will have to abandon his preferred 4-2-3-1 formation in favor of the 4-4-2 formation with Iheanacho acting as a supporting striker to Osimhen.
That is the role the 24-year-old is currently thriving in at Leicester, playing alongside Jamie Vardy.
Utilizing such a setup will mean only two of Chukwueze, Iwobi, Aribo, and Onyeruku will start at wide midfield role, with the duo of Ndidi and Etebo certain to start at the base of midfield.
