The Super Eagles of Nigeria were held to a 2-2 draw by the White-Reds of Poland in an international friendly match played in Warsaw on Wednesday night, www.aclsports.com reports.
Following the successful defence of the Unity Cup in London, Eric Chelle welcomed most of his regulars back to the squad, with just some players like Igoh Ogbu, Terem Moffi, and a host of others joining the squad in Warsaw.
Maduka Okoye returned to start between the sticks, while Ogbu retained his spot at the heart of the backline, and he was joined by Emmanuel Fernandez, Bruno Onyemaechi and debutant Abdullahi Bewene. Chelle opted for a mix of experience in midfield with skipper Wilfred Ndidi and Tochukwu Nnadi starting together, and then the trio of Moses Simon, Akor Adams and Moffi in attack.
Poland could have taken the lead in the opening ten minutes of the contest at the PGE Narodowy Stadium in Warsaw as they went close. Jakub Kaminski headed his effort wide when he should have done better in the third minute before Ndidi nearly turned a Poland corner into his side’s net moments later.
After those two early chances for the home side, Nigeria seized control of the game, playing some exciting football and combining very well. The moment of sustained pressure ended with a goal for the Super Eagles in the 23rd minute. After some lovely build-up, Moses Simon’s low cross into the box was expertly finished by Moffi for his second goal in two games.
Nnadi then forced the Polish goalkeeper into a strong save, as Nigeria tried to double their advantage. In stoppage time, the home side got back on level terms through Kacper Potulski after the Super Eagles failed to deal with a corner from the right. It was 1-1 at halftime.
Before the restart, Chelle made several changes, introducing Philip Otele, Semi Ajayi, Calvin Bassey, Rafiu Durosinmi, Raphael Onyedika, and Zaidu Sanusi, and bringing on Paul Onuachu for Akor Adams, Fernandez, Ogbu, Moffi, Frank Onyeka, Nnadi, and Onyemaechi.
Those changes took a bit of steam out of the Super Eagles, who were struggling for dominance compared to the opening half. However, Onuachu and Onyedika could have put Nigeria back into the lead, but they could not get their attempts on target.
Okoye then made a big stop to deny Robert Lewandowski after a poor back-pass from Zaidu Sanusi. At the other end, Sanusi’s fierce goal-bound strike was pushed away by Poland goalkeeper Kamil Grabara. However, Nigeria were awarded a spot-kick in the final quarter, and Onuachu stepped up to put Nigeria ahead in the 77th minute.
The Super Eagles came under a lot of intense pressure in the final moments of the contest, with goalkeeper Okoye making a double save to retain Nigeria’s lead. Meanwhile, with the final kick of the game, Przemyslaw Wisniewski scored an unstoppable equaliser for the hosts to ensure a share of the spoils.
Eric Chelle and his men will now head to Portugal for another friendly game, where they will be facing the 2016 European champions, who are heading to the 2026 World Cup.
