Victor Boniface: Time Is Ticking For His Big Act

Later today when Nigeria and Libya meet in the first of two games for October’s international window in continuation of their Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign, all eyes arguably will be on Victor Boniface.

Boniface has been in the spotlight this season for his impressive form with Bayer Leverkusen, and his off the pitch shenanigans.

The bulky forward packs an exciting character like the joker, his acts have almost turned him into an internet sensation in world football.

Back home, Boniface is adored by football fans and they expect to see all that showmanship even more effectively on the pitch when he dons the Super Eagle shirt.

Since his debut in August 2023, Victor Boniface has earned 7 caps, but managed to score just 1 goal – in contrast for Leverkusen he has made 6 Bundesliga appearances this campaign and has five-goal contribution (4 goals & 1 assist).

Ironically, his stats for Nigeria has silenced his admirer, stirred up a debate and forced Super Eagles interim coach Austin Eguavoen to jump to his defence.

“Victor Boniface has always been a part of this team and will continue to be a part of this team,” Eguavoen stated when asked about the forward’s lack of goals.

“Yes he is not finding the back of the net but I can assure you if he starts tomorrow (Friday) he will score.”

The pressure on Friday will make or mar his public persona should he fail to seize the moment again, if presented the stage – particularly with Victor Osimhen not available.

Nigeria’s record without the masked forward is miserable; 5 wins 6 draws and 15 loses, since the 2019 AFCON.

If the alarms bells aren’t already going off perhaps Eguavoen has another trick under his sleeves – maybe a Kelechi Iheanacho or Taiwo Awoniyi – to ensure Super Eagles don’t drop points at home in the first leg of this encounter.

While those two are more established players in the team, neither is on the purple patch, and quite frankly their inclusion raised some eyebrows and put the Coach on the spot.

Boniface himself is yet to respond to all the scrutiny and questions, “why he can’t replicate club form for Country?”

One teammate though has inadvertently turned the heat on the Bundesliga star. Alex Iwobi innocuously posits that Nigeria’s advantage against Libya would be total should the players bring their club form to both legs of the tie.

Per Brila’s correspondent in Uyo Aisha Akanni, the Fulham midfielder believes that, “Everyone is doing well for their clubs, so if we bring that same form from our clubs to the national team, we should get the result that we want.”

The double edge to this familiar problem is expecting players to bring their competitive game and a masterstroke in the Tactical instructions from the Coach.

In the previous games against Bénin Republic and Rwanda, Austin Eguavoen set his team up to play in a 3-4-3 (3-4-2-1) formation and other variations that responded to threats or opportunities up front.

Over those two games Boniface played 109 minutes, but was overshadowed by Osimhen who came off the bench against Bénin and in six minutes after replacing the former, got his name on the score sheet.

One major reason why this was so is the visible difference in their styles, positional play and technical abilities.

With the last, some may argue that only a thin line separates the two, but attitude and application differs.

Boniface isn’t rugged or the forward to welcome 1v1 duels, he wants to evade challenges and use his dribbling to open up space before pulling the trigger.

The game tactics against Bénin Republic and Rwanda didn’t allow, and clear frustrations he showed as he smacked a one-time volley from a lobbed pass in his last action before Osimhen snatched the headlines with a half volley coming off the bench – despite having zero action all preseason.

As a standalone forward against ultra defensive teams that often employ man-to-man marking and low blocks (zonals), Boniface will struggle unless Nigeria attacks directly and find ways to drop the ball inside the box.

His quality as a Fox in the box is unrivalled in the team – barring Osimhen’s.

It’s unlikely Eguavoen will try out a strategy that doesn’t involve two wide players as main attacking outlet, and this could pose further problems for Boniface if he isn’t one of the wide men or playing closely with a support cast in a two-man front line.

The personnel is available in Ademola Lookman or Chidera Ejuke, to pair Boniface in a 3-5-2 (3-2-1-2-2) formation or 3-4-3 (3-2-3-1) with a No.10 behind Boniface who can thread passes for his runs.

The team’s balance and particularly in the midfield can be a dynamic pyramid of Wilfred Ndidi (Frank Onyeka) – Raphael Onyedika (Al-Hassan Yusuf) – Alex Iwobi (Fisayo Dele-Bashiru).

Super Eagles has the quality to unlock Victor Boniface, but the player may need to unburden himself of all pressure – step into his zone and not the thought of living under Victor Osimhen’s shadow.