Nigeria and Czech Republic meet in Rudolf-Tonn-Stadion, in a friendly match. This will be the 5th of the year for Nigeria, after the previous ones played against England, DR Congo, Serbia and Poland. In the case of the Czech Republic, this is his 2nd friendly of the year, after the previous friendly against Australia. There is no record of direct confrontations between these two teams in the last 3 years. The last match was played on 11-12-1996 and ended with the score: Czech Republic (2-1) Nigeria. In this game the home factor may be decisive, since the Czech Republic presents considerable differences in their results at home and as a visitor.
Nigeria:
This is the 5th friendly match of the year for the home team, after previous friendlies in which they recorded the following results: England (2-1) Nigeria, Nigeria (1-1) DR Congo, Nigeria (0-2) Serbia and Poland (0-1) Nigeria. This is a team that usually maintains its competitive levels in home and away matches, since in the last 30 matches they register 7 wins, 3 draws and 5 losses in away matches, with 19 goals scored and 17 conceded; against 8 wins, 5 draws and 2 losses at their stadium, with 23 goals scored and 10 conceded. In the last 10 home matches for all competitions, Nigeria have won 5, tied 3 and lost 2. Defensive consistency has not been their best feature, as they have conceded goals in 3 of the last 4 matches. attack has scored regularly, since they have scored goals in 3 of the last 4 matches for this competition. In 15 games, he got the comeback in 3 of the 6 matches in which he suffered the first goal.
Nigeria leaves for this game with a defeat against England, by 2-1, thus adding the third straight game without winning in friendly games. We remember that the last victory was against Poland, by 0-1. In this friendly against the Czech Republic, coach Gernot Rohr must act in the usual 4-2-3-1, but with a fairly defensive strategy, as the opponent has players of great individual value. It is important to emphasize that the strengths of this team are in the offensive sector: Moses and Iwobi are very fast and exempt players in the offensive. Everything indicates that the coach will be able to count on his best players in this duel.
Czech Republic:
The visiting team plays their 2nd friendly match of the year, after facing Australia, in a match that ended with the score: Australia (4-0) Czech Republic. This is a team that, oddly enough, was better stronger than at home, as in the last 30 matches they register 7 wins, 2 draws and 6 losses in away matches; against 6 victories, 4 draws and 5 defeats in his stadium. In the last 10 away matches Czech Republic has 4 wins, 1 draw and 5 losses. The team has scored goals against the opponent in 7 of the last 10 matches, so his defense needs to improve, but his attack has scored regularly, since he has scored goals in 8 of the last 10 matches. In 15 games, he suffered the first goal 5 times and never got the comeback. There is 1 period that stands out in the last 10 away matches for all competitions: they have scored 6 of their 13 goals between minutes (16′-30 ‘).
The Czech Republic team comes to this game with a defeat against Australia, 4-0, putting an end to an excellent series of four successive wins in several competitions. In this match against Nigeria it will be expected that coach Karel Jarolim will risk again in 4-2-3-1, privileging possession of the ball and organized attacks. It is important to emphasize that the Czech team has great offensive quality and a very strong defensive sector in the air game. Antonin Barak is one of the great highlights of the Czech Republic, being a player of great technical quality and great vision of the game. For this game the coach can count on all his players.
PREDICTION: Both teams to score / NO @ 1.72
