Mexico score their winning goal in the 55th after Troost-Ekong miskicked a cross from the six-yard box and sends it into his own net
By Kehinde Okeowo
Nigeria took on Mexico in an international friendly at the AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas in the United States to prepare the El-Tri for the 2022 World Cup billed for Qatar later in the year on Sunday, May 29.
Mexico had the better of the exchanges in the first half, mustering eight shots with four of them hitting the target, while the Super Eagles could not register a single shot in the opening 45 minutes.
El-Tri made their pressure count in the 12th minute after Gimenez’s shot beats the goalkeeper but couldn’t find the net, the rebound fortuitously came back to him and he calmly puts it away to give them a 1-0 lead.
Cyriel Dessers equalised for Nigeria in the 53rd minute, scoring in his full Super Eagles debut off a beautiful Calvin Bassey’s cross, which he met with a header that flew past Cota in the Mexican goal.
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The El-Tri, however, restored their lead 2 minutes later when Troost-Ekong miskicked a cross from the six-yard box and sends it into his own net to make it 2-1 after Gallardo’s cross.
The 56,872 crowd at the Stadium stood behind the Mexicans for large spells of the game as Jose Peseiro chose to tweak some systems in the team setup in the second half after an Innocent Bonke injury forced his hands
The increasingly versatile Alex Iwobi sat in the defensive midfield after Bonke’s exit and did a good job alongside midfield partner Joe Aribo.
Sani Faisal came on for the injured Lorient star with the Nigerians sitting deeper in the game and looking to catch the Mexicans on the break.
Chiamaka Madu, Ishaq Rafiu , and Victor Mbaoma all came on later in the second half with Rafiu looking the brightest amongst the trio.
His trickery helped open some spaces in the Mexican defense after coming on for Terem Moffi. Mbaoma replaced Dessers but couldn’t get involved in the game with Mexico dictating large spells of the game.
Ekong ensured the Super Eagles didn’t lose by a wider margin in the 84th minute as he made a good block off a Lainez shot.
Despite the depleted nature of the Super Eagles evident in how they set up, the game notwithstanding proved a good test for the Nigerians with some interesting discoveries for the coaches to ponder about.
The Super Eagles will next face Ecuador in another international friendly match on Friday, June 3, at the Red Bull Arena.