5 things we are looking forward to in upcoming friendly games against Poland, Serbia

It’s international break again and the Super Eagles of Nigeria will be action with two friendly games, against Poland and Serbia already lined-up.

The Super Eagles of Nigeria will on Friday, March 23 face Poland in a friendly game before clashing with Serbia on Tuesday, March 26.

These are five things we are looking forward to ahead of the upcoming friendly games.

I. Goalkeeping situation

Super Eagles goalkeeping situation

Since Carl Ikeme was diagnosed with acute leukaemia in July 2017, Super Eagles boss Gernot Rohr has been without a number one goalkeeper.

Rohr used Daniel Akpeyi for the 2-0 loss to South Africa in an Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier and Ikechukwu Ezenwa for the remaining 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

Deportivo La Coruna youngsters Francis Uzoho has also come into the squad and played the second 45 minutes in the 4-2 win over Argentina in November.

All eyes will be on who Rohr picks for the friendly games and how they will perform.

2. Defence

Rohr used a three-man defence set-up in the friendly game against Argentina for the first time as Super Eagles boss.

Shehu Abdullahi started in right wing-back, Ola Aina on the left while William Troost-Ekong, Leon Balogun and Chidozie Awaziem were in central defence.

Tyronne Ebuehi as a right wing-back and Brian Idowu as a left wing-back in the second half.

Ahead of the friendly games, all eyes will on Rohr to see if he will stick with the three-man defence or revert to the four-man set-up he has used in other games.

Will Rohr stick with Abdullahi- a midfielder by trade- as a right-back or bring in Ebuehi, Aina?

With Elderson Echiejile not available due to injury against Algeria and Argentina, Rohr used Aina and Idowu in left-back. Is he going to bring back Echiejile into the team?

3. Onazi or Ogu

Since making his debut for the Super Eagles in March 2013, John Ogu had only managed only managed 14 caps for Nigeria.

He has had regular call-up under Rohr but always had to settle for a place on the bench.

Before his appearances against Algeria and Argentina in November, the 29-year-old has been in Super Eagles squad five times but only played once -the friendly game against Senegal in March 2017- under Rohr.

Ogu has always been kept away from the Super Eagles starting XI by Ogenyi Onazi who is one of the senior players in the team and favourite of Rohr.

With Onazi injured, the Hapoel Be'er Sheva midfielder, however, got two rare chances to start against Algeria and Argentina in November and was impressive in both games.

He scored and put in a Man of the Match performance against Algeriaand played with a lot of composure and quality against Argentina.

The question now is, who will Rohr use in this friendly games and the 2018 FIFA World Cup, we are waiting to see.

4. Victor Moses

One of the biggest names in Nigerian football, Moses put in consistent performances for Chelsea as they won the Premier League title in 2017. He was also one of Super Eagles best players during the 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign.

This is season however, , played his worst game for Chelsea.

Nothing is working for him at the moment, he defends poorly and goes forward without conviction, a shadow of the Moses we saw in the 2016/2017 season harrying the right win for Chelsea with vim and vigour.

Nigerians will be watching him during the friendly games against Poland and Serbia to see if he can drop his Chelsea form to deliver for the Super Eagles.

5. All eyes on Ndidi

Wilfred Ndidi has had a massive season so far at Leicester City and has rightly gotten the critical acclaim.

One of the leading tacklers in Europe, all eyes will be on the 21-year-old to see how he plays for the Super Eagles.

His impressive performances have seen him linked with a series of clubs and it seems it’s just a matter of time before he moves to a bigger team.

Leicester City know they have a player in their hands and know that a fantastic World Cup with the Super Eagles will mean more admirers for him.

But before the World Cup, many- from fans to other clubs- will be watching Ndidi very closely during these two Super Eagles friendlies.