World Cup 2018: Croatia 2-0 Nigeria; Player Ratings

Nigeria

Nigeria players react after conceding one of Croatia's two goals to start Group D with a defeat

Francis Uzoho - 6.5/10

Was one of Nigeria's better players on a drab evening of football from their perspective. Commanded his box well, made a few important claims and stops that will boost his confidence especially as he was unlucky to concede twice. Although his distribution needs improving, he'll continue to grow and learn from the experience.

Abdullahi Shehu - 5/10

Struggled. Regularly exploited by Croatia and allowed far too many deliveries into the box from his side, not for the first time either. His nervousness in possession meant Nigeria rarely took risks when attempting to go forward either.

William Troost-Ekong - 4/10

Solid defensively, up until a moment of madness saw him grab hold of Mandzukic like he was squaring up for a WWE style take-down inside the box. Needless and lazy marking, which was duly punished by the referee with a penalty - only further compounding Nigeria's misery on an evening to forget.

Leon Balogun - 7.5/10

Meanwhile, there were no mad moments from his centre-back partner! Balogun, who joined Premier League side Brighton last month, performed well despite injury worries prior to kick-off. A towering aerial presence with the physique and concentration to match, he didn't deserve to be on the losing side.

Balogun was dominant in the air and defensively reassuring despite Nigeria's defeat

Brian Idowu - 6.5/10

Defensive positioning was good for the most part and it needed to be too, as he did well to frustrate Croatia attackers in the early going. They improvised by largely opting to exploit the opposite flank instead, though Idowu did his job. Two tackles, interceptions and three clearances, he didn't do much wrong and created a key pass for Odion Ighalo - but his delivery just fell short.

Wilfried Ndidi - 7.5/10

What more could he do? Five tackles, three interceptions and three clearances - Ndidi was unsurprisingly one of his side's best performers but just like Balogun, ended up on the losing team. The one argument you could make is the fact that often, he didn't initiate their pressing tactic out of possession.

But if one midfielder does so and no-one else follows their example, it leaves the opposition an easy target to pass through. So instead he was patient and picked his moments to try and thwart danger in its tracks, which allowed Croatia more time and space on the ball.

John Obi Mikel - 6/10

It seems clear to all but Nigeria's coaching staff that Obi Mikel is being deployed out of position. The main reason why he's in the team, besides his experience, is the fact he can control the tempo in midfield and assess the situation before deciding their next move. Creating goalscoring chances should be left to the likes of Iwobi though, who was shunted out to the wings again. Tired in the second-half and overall, was disappointing.

Oghenekaro Etebo - 7.5/10

Own goal aside, Etebo was Nigeria's most influential player and proved himself a real handful to deal with. Two key passes, eight completed dribbles and fouled on EIGHT separate occasions - he was also their most relentless marker in midfield. Stoke supporters can quickly warm to their new recruit, should he perform like this for them on a consistent basis in the Championship next season.

Etebo was fearless, took risks and Croatia responded by bringing him down wherever possible

Victor Moses - 6/10

It was an eventful evening for Moses, but not necessarily for all the right reasons. His persistence to play further forward on the wing for Nigeria is understandable, given his attributes. Failure to apply them when it matters most though, is frustrating - especially given he's shown he is capable of doing so for Chelsea over the past two seasons.

Was fouled on five separate occasions and at one point, it seemed he was more concerned about winning free-kicks than beating his marker. That in itself is frustrating. Finishing and crossing accuracy has never been strengths of his but they were particularly poor here, when Nigeria needed that bit of quality to boost their spirits and more importantly, turn the game on its head. Was dispossessed and his touch let him down too, even though he had enough time to complete three dribbles and create two key passes. That says it all, really.

Odion Ighalo - 5/10

Found himself an isolated figure for large periods of the match, where he was essentially feeding off scraps in the hopes that he could fashion a goalscoring chance and take it. With that in mind though, his shot selection was wild and underwhelming, whilst poor touches meant promising counter-attacks fizzled out before they had a chance to deliver whenever he was around.

Alex Iwobi - 5/10

Pure and simple, he should be playing in a central attacking role. Shunting him out to the wide areas is more a hindrance than a help - especially in matches like this where Nigeria need a creative-minded player to take the game to their opponents.

Almost couldn't believe how easy it was at times for players like Modric and Rebic to find joy down his side, because he essentially refused to press and looked lost at times. Just like a few others, his shot selection was questionable and he found himself substituted just after the hour mark.

Modric skips past Iwobi unchallenged, a regular occurrence down the left-hand side

Substitutes:

Ahmed Musa - 5.5/10

Came on to add an injection of pace and purpose to Nigeria's attack, but was unable to influence proceedings just minutes before Croatia put the game to bed.

Kelechi Iheanacho and Simy Nwankwo were brought into the action in the dying minutes, not enough to warrant a fair rating.