How is Eguavoen's 3-4-3 Philosophy Different from Peseiro's Approach?

Well, has Eguavoen learnt the trick behind “effective adjustment”? If so, yes let him continue please.

Eguavoen has a winning strategy, no doubt. But it is Lack of adjustment that has been his undoing because, once his his methods are decoded, he fails to adjust in time to the threat that now faces him.

Already, we all know what Eguavoen is currently about: the same formation 3-4-3 as Peseiro but with a different orientation.

Peseiro played low block defensive orientation with greater positional discipline, less emphasis on possession play and an attacking approach largely predicated upon counter attacks.

Hence Nigeria registered 45% possession stats against Angola in the Afcon but 51% against Burundi recently.

To date, many Super Eagles fans remain unhappy and ungrateful with Jose Peseiro despite winning a highly respectable silver for Nigeria at the 2023 Afcon because his ultra-defensive style deprived these fans enough time to see Super Eagles players on the ball due to how long they sat back to defend, even against lower opponents like Angola and Guinea Bissau.

Now, for Eguavoen in the last 2 games, the Super Eagles fans enjoyed more time the players romanced the ball, with 57% possession against Benin and, as already mentioned, 51% against Burundi.

In Eguavoen’s 3-4-3, the Super Eagles were more daring and aggressive with higher block. It was a more balanced orientation, slightly tilting more towards an attacking approach. Left wingback Bruno Onyemaechi overlapped more regularly and pulled out more crosses under Eguavoen than Zaidu did under Peseiro in the same formation.

In Eguavoen’s midfield, it resembled his 4-2-4 where Aribo was clearly in front of Ndidi, this time, Dele-Bashiru took the place of Aribo. This arrangement worried me greatly as I noticed Eguavoen’s 3-4-3 becoming 5-1-1-3. In this arrangement, a Rwandan centre forward simply played a pass back to an unmarked midfielder who dragged his shot wide (a more technical midfielder would have punished Nigeria by finding the back of the net).

Under Peseiro, the 2 centre midfielders, Iwobi and Onyeka, tend to be side-by-side for long spells in games with both having a more defensive portfolio whilst Dele-Bashiru is clearly the more attacking midfielder for Eguavoen.

Because of Eguavoen’s more offensive orientation, his Super Eagles could be punished brutally when players are over-committed to attack. With the wingbacks pushed higher and one of the 2 midfielders in attacking position, the Super Eagles become very vulnerable to rapid counter attacks executed by highly technical players with killer instincts.

I always love seeing Nigeria on the front foot against African oppositions. But this has to yield victories CONSISTENTLY to be worthwhile.