Gary Cahill’s march to England’s World Cup XI continued apace at Wembley. Cahill did what he could not do for Chelsea in the Premier League this season, and scored a powerful header to open the scoring en route to a 2-1 win over Nigeria.
Gary Cahill served notice to John Stones and Harry Maguire that they – not he – will be competing for the starting XI when England opens their World Cup campaign in Russia. Cahill opened the scoring seven minutes into the friendly against Nigeria. He spent the rest of the match locking down the defence and his spot on the back-line.
Cahill’s goal was his first for the Three Lions since a qualifying game against Scotland in November 2016. It was his first in any competition since Chelsea defeated Everton at the end of April 2017.
Cahill’s performance was a stark contrast to Stones’. The Chelsea captain’s passing, positioning and awareness were impeccable throughout the game. An oversight by Stones, on the other hand, contributed to the Super Eagles’ goal.
Alex Iwobi ran right past Stones, who did not see Iwobi rushing into the play, did not pick up Iwobi’s run past him and did not attempt to recover as Iwobi closed down the ball pinging back off the post. Cahill dropped back towards the net, ready to make a block and expecting Stones to take care of Iwobi. Instead Stones stood and watched as Iwobi one-timed the ball past Jordan Pickford. The Manchester City man looked every bit as out of the flow while Cahill berated him for allowing Iwobi such an opportunity.
Stones is playing the role Andreas Christensen played at Chelsea vis-a-vis Gary Cahill. Both Stones and Christensen are young, mobile and full of talent. But both are prone to mental lapses that lead to mistakes, which in turn lead to conceding goals. Cahill “benefitted” from Christensen’s form during late February and early March. The Dane created the opening that allowed Cahill – unspectacular, physical-not-finesse, 32-year old Cahill – back in into Chelsea’s XI for the run-in. Stones’ performance against Nigeria reinforced some of the doubts around him. Cahill can ride those doubts into more opportunities to show his solidity, until he is a given for the starting XI in Russia.
On the other side of the pitch, Victor Moses had a nearly invisible outing for Nigeria. He played as a left wing / left attacking midfielder, where he had plenty of space but saw little of the ball. Moses had only 30 touches, far fewer than Alex Iwobi on the other side of the pitch. Moses came off in the 62′, with Gernot Rohr showing a proper amount of caution after Moses hitched up a bit on a run. Chelsea’s right wing-back had one shot on goal, from a good position and good angle but on his weaker left foot.
Next: Gary Cahill, Andreas Christensen came together for dubious mark
Nigeria adapted their tactics extraordinarily well in the second half, dropping Iwobi into central midfield. They will need to balance their attack and integrate Moses into the flow of play when they open their World Cup campaign against Croatia. Moses is all but certain to start, but the Super Eagles cannot afford to have him present but not productive.