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Benin vs Nigeria: Relive the best of the Super Eagles’ build-up

The Super Eagles square off with the Squirrels on Saturday evening as the West African giants look to secure Africa Cup of Nations qualification in style.
As has become the norm, perhaps, for Gernot Rohr’s side, it hasn’t been an entirely smooth build-up to the tournament, but the Eagles are nonetheless in fine fettle ahead of this blockbuster meeting.

Here are the key storylines ahead of Nigeria vs Benin.

Benin vs Nigeria

Despite the wealth of Nigerian talent available to Rohr ahead of this showdown, it wasn’t entirely plain sailing for the Super Eagles as they looked to pick their squad for their Nations Cup qualifiers.
France-based players were initially barred from representing the national side, while there were also concerns about the availability of other players in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

Samuel Kalu was one of the players to have been cut from the initial side, opening the door to in-form Paul Onuachu, while <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-ng/news/twitter-reacts-as-rohr-invites-musa-ahead-of-onuachu-for/s8u1jsiqgo8y1b9jm7pkwiko6" target="_blank">Ahmed Musa’s inclusion raised a few eyebrows due to the fact that he has been without a club since 2020</a>.

Complicated squad selection

One of the main talking points on this week’s African Football HQ podcast was the configuration of Rohr’s attacking unit.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
🚨 Podcast Alert 🎬 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Afcon2021Q?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Afcon2021Q</a> : 🐿️ 🇧🇯 🆚 🇳🇬 🦅 
 
Kelechi Iheanacho's last 🔟 games for Leicester City ⚡ 
 
⚽⚽🅰️⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽ 
 
🗣️: Can Iheanacho translate his Leicester City form to Nigeria and help them qualify for Afcon? 
 
🎤: <a href="https://twitter.com/EddyDove?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@EddyDove</a> &amp; <a href="https://twitter.com/AfricanFtbl?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AfricanFtbl</a> <a href="https://t.co/TD75jTJu52">pic.twitter.com/TD75jTJu52</a>
— Goal Africa (@GoalAfrica) <a href="https://twitter.com/GoalAfrica/status/1375447448013959168?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 26, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Victor Osimhen is the German coach’s first choice forward, but considering the recent form of Kelechi Iheanacho with Leicester City, how could he not be included?

The Foxes frontman has had a hand in 10 goals in his last nine games, and he’s looked a lethal presence during that period.

Surely, Rohr can’t afford to leave him out of the side.

In-form Iheanacho

A few eyebrows were raised by the Nigeria Football Federation’s decision to send the squad to Benin by speedboat.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
🚨 Podcast Alert 🎬 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Afcon2021Q?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Afcon2021Q</a> : 🐿️ 🇧🇯 🆚 🇳🇬 🦅 
 
Kelechi Iheanacho's last 🔟 games for Leicester City ⚡ 
 
⚽⚽🅰️⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽ 
 
🗣️: Can Iheanacho translate his Leicester City form to Nigeria and help them qualify for Afcon? 
 
🎤: <a href="https://twitter.com/EddyDove?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@EddyDove</a> &amp; <a href="https://twitter.com/AfricanFtbl?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AfricanFtbl</a> <a href="https://t.co/TD75jTJu52">pic.twitter.com/TD75jTJu52</a>
— Goal Africa (@GoalAfrica) <a href="https://twitter.com/GoalAfrica/status/1375447448013959168?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 26, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Admittedly, the distance isn’t particularly far, but ahead of the trip—which ultimately went smoothly—several players raised concerns about the decision, with the likes of Henry Onyekuru and Joe Aribo revealing that they had never travelled by sea before.

Largely, the decision was received positively—even if it was an unwanted distraction—but will it have an impact on Nigeria’s performance?

Sail Super Eagles

<a href="https://www.goal.com/en-ng/lists/benin-vs-nigeria-predicting-the-super-eagles-starting-xi/1qw18uinikijvz204auclmjrq" target="_blank">Goal’s Taiye Taiwo had a go at predicting the Eagles’ starting XI</a> ahead of the clash, with one of the big decisions to emerge being whether Nigeria opt for a back three or not.
Taiwo wanted Rohr to go for this option, with a back three of Semi Ajayi, William Troost-Ekong and Leon Balogun giving stability for Ola Aina and Zaidu Sanusi to bomb forward.

However, this means that Nigeria must make compromises further up the pitch, and could this risk leaving the West Africans short as they chase qualification.

Who will start for Rohr?

The Eagles failed to win a single match during 2020, taking three draws and one defeat from their four international fixtures.
In particular, their double header against Sierra Leone was disappointing, with the West African giants letting a four-goal lead slip at home before being held to a 0-0 draw away from home.

It would take something remarkable for Nigeria to miss out on qualification, but as <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-ng/news/speedboat-sideshow-aside-nigeria-must-convince-vs-benin/kpd6toa0anbl11fh9y9lz5eg7" target="_blank">Ed Dove argued ahead of the fixture, the Eagles must aim higher than just reaching Cameroon</a>.

Fans need not only qualification, but they demand a convincing international window from the Eagles.

Nigeria must convince

Benin vs Nigeria: Relive the best of the Super Eagles’ build-up | Goal.com Kenya

Benin vs Nigeria: What have been the main storylines ahead of the Super Eagles&apos; Africa Cup of Nations qualifier?

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