Nigeria 0–2 Mali: 3 Tactical Mistakes Finidi George Made in Super Eagles Loss to Les Aigles

• Finidi George was defeated at his own game in Nigeria's clash against Mali
• The Super Eagles lost 2-0 to Les Aigles at the Grand de Stade in Marrakech
• Sports Brief takes a look at the tactical mistakes made by the Nigerian coach

Finidi George started his Super Eagles coaching career with a win against Ghana in an international friendly but ended the break with a defeat against Mali in Morocco.

Most Nigerians were happy when the Super Eagles earned a deserved 2-1 win over the Black Stars on Friday (March 22). However, a 2-0 loss to Mali brought about a new discussion about Finidi's choice of leading the country's national team.

With many opinions being shared about the Super Eagles legend's choices against Mali, Sports Brief highlights some of the coach's tactical errors in the game against Eric Chelle's side.

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Mistakes made by Finidi against Mali

1. Starting the match without a natural striker

Finidi George started the game with Mali with a 3-5-2 formation and opted for Kelechi Iheanacho and Moses Simon upfront, contrasting his options against Ghana.

He went for Iheanacho and Cyriel Dessers against the Black Stars, which showed how the team pressed Otto Addo's side.

Eric Chelle played on Finidi's mistake of not playing with a natural striker by keeping his defensive structure tight, and it was too late for the Super Eagles to redeem themselves even after their caretaker manager introduced Dessers after Simon was forced off due to injury.

2. Late substitutions

The Enyimba international coach was guilty of not trying to mix things up when Nigeria was a goal down for over 70 minutes.

For the entire 90 minutes, George only made two substitutions compared to Mali's five.

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One of the substitutions was due to Simon's injury, and the other was Ademola Lookman coming on for Raphael Onyedika in the second half.

There were a lot of players who shouldn't have completed the game, and the coach's inability to mix up things and try some of his substitutes who could offer something new was one of his mistakes.

3. On-field formation tweak

Nigeria stuck with the 3-5-2 formation that limited the team in creating enough chances for the forwards.

The introduction of Nathan Tella and Umar Sadiq could have brought a new approach to the game, but the coach did not consider them for the game.

The fullbacks that were supposed to produce some form of attacking threats were shut down by the Malian defence.

Finidi was stuck up with the same approach throughout the game despite Les Aigles not allowing his team to create clear scoring chances.

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Finidi explains why Nigeria lost to Mali

Sports Brief also previously reported that Super Eagles coach, Finidi, explained why Nigeria lost to Mali.

The 52-year-old attributed their defeat to injuries to key strikers, which affected their approach on the night.