Former Nigerian international Etim Esin has advised Super Eagles interim coach Augustine Eguavoen to stop relying on Alex Iwobi and instead find a more creative midfielder—someone with technical abilities akin to himself or the legendary Austine Jay-Jay Okocha.
The Super Eagles struggled to create chances in their final two African Cup of Nations qualifiers against Benin Republic and Rwanda, which ended in a 1-1 draw and a 2-1 defeat, respectively.
These performances have drawn criticism from Nigerians, including Etim, who dismissed the idea of Iwobi playing the number 10 role for the Super Eagles.
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The ex-Super Eagles midfielder, who earned eight senior national team caps and has no recorded career assist according to Transfermarkt, argued that the Fulham player cannot offer the same level of creativity as some of Nigeria’s former stars, including himself and Okocha.
He said,
“Another issue is the lack of a creative midfielder—a proper number 10 who can orchestrate plays, provide assists, and unsettle opposing teams.
“That magic touch of players like Jay-Jay Okocha, Henry Nwosu, or even myself is missing. We don’t have naturally gifted playmakers anymore. Everyone is just average.
“For instance, people keep talking about Iwobi, but he can’t do half of what Okocha did. That comparison doesn’t hold water,” the 58-year-old said in an interview with Complete Sports.
Meanwhile, Iwobi has scored a goal and provided an assist in his last two games for his club but has managed just two assists in over 50 appearances for the Super Eagles. He recently revealed the reasons for his lack of goal contributions with the Nigerian national team.
