Nigeria rounded up their international window with a hard-fought 2-2 draw against World Cup-bound Jordan at the Mardan Sports Complex in Antalya, Turkey on Tuesday night.
This followed a 2-1 win over Iran on Thursday and was another performance, without most of their starting stars, that once again highlighted the frustration of the Super Eagles failing to qualify for the FIFA World Cup.
Missing Victor Osimhen, Calvin Bassey and first choice but currently clubless goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali, head coach Eric Chelle made six changes to the side that started against Iran, handing full debuts to forward Yira Sor and defender Emmanuel Fernandez.
Those changes did little to slow the Super Eagles roll, although they did come under the pump during the opening stages of the first half, when the Jordanians opened the score with a well-rehearsed free-kick routine, allowing star man Mousa Tamari to fire them into the lead.
Three-time African champions Nigeria thought they had restored parity just six minutes later when Raphael Onyedika, outside the box, rifled a clever cut-back from Moses Simon, but the strike was controversially ruled out by the officials.
It wasn't long before the undeterred Super Eagles levelled scores on the half hour. Again, Simon was in the thick of things. Captain for the night, and celebrating a landmark 97th appearance, the Paris FC forward struck home for his second goal in as many games this window.
Four minutes before the break, the turnaround was complete. Bright Osayi-Samuel with a pinpoint delivery from wide, Emmanuel Fernandez with a cold-blooded left-foot finish.
Jordan, who had only lost only one of their previous five matches, did eventually find a leveller, as the game finished with a draw.
However, the closing stages was not without drama, marked by a late red card to Alex Iwobi, who retaliated to blatant holding in the middle of the pitch, and saw almost all the players on the pitch join in the fray.
With the Super Eagles not taking part in the World Cup in June, this was a chance for Chelle to start what is essentially a retooling of the Super Eagles.
So what did we learn?
No Osimhen, no problem
This storyline has been done to death. But it is true that an over-dependence on Osimhen for results has been a recurring theme for the Super Eagles prior to Chelle's tenure. And it was undoubtedly a big factor in Nigeria's failure to qualify for the World Cup.
But at AFCON, the team appeared to be weaning themselves off their Osimhen dependence, with Ademola Lookman and Iwobi driving a more cohesive unit.
Scoring twice against Jordan provided further proof that that particular plotline may be firmly in the rear view.
Make no mistake, Osimhen will continue to be an important spearhead for the Super Eagles, with his ability and goalscoring efficiency, but there will be days, as has been evident in the past and during this window, where he will be missing, either through injury or other reasons.
During those times, the Super Eagles will need to find goals from somewhere, and Chelle appears to be learning from the mistakes of his predecessors and building a team that can not only perform, but win matches in the absence of the Galatasaray striker.
Under previous coaches, the Super Eagles struggled to score more than one goal without Osimhen. They are scoring multiple goals now in his absence.
The front four of Lookman, Samuel Chukwueze, Simon and Akor Adams along with Iwobi behind them, created multiple opportunities to have won the Iran game at a canter. And against Jordan, who looked a much better team, they also created opportunities and really should have had the first goal count.
Simon appears to be finding some scoring consistency along with creating assists. Once Akor can finish at a higher clip, added to Lookman's undoubted efficiency in the box, the Super Eagles will be the better for it. And hopefully, this fix can be permanent.
Debutants bring in new qualities
There can be no retooling without some new faces in the mix. Prior to and at AFCON, Chelle handed debuts to the likes of Adams, Ryan Alebiosu, Tochukwu Nnadi, Ebenezer Akinsanmiro and Igoh Ogbu.
Ogbuh, in the absence of Calvin Bassey, started at centreback in both games this window. Let's not also forget Benjamin Fredrick, who was injured just before AFCON and remains an integral part of that defensive rotation.
This window, Chelle handed debuts to Glasgow Rangers' Emmanuel Fernandez, Trabzonspor's Chibuike Nwaiwu, Genk's Yira Sor and Hamburg's Philip Otele.
Defence has been the one area where the Super Eagles have desperately needed shoring up, particularly at centreback. Bassey is the undisputed leader at the back, but at 32, his centerback partner Semi Ajayi is no spring chicken and is certainly not the long term prospect for the role.
Former captain William Troost-Ekong's retirement left a hole that was filled by youngster Frederick until he got injured last year. Ogbuh held the forte well at AFCON, but Chelle knows that his depth chart needs to be deeper.
Against Iran, Trabzonspor defender Nwaiwu, called up as a late replacement for Bassey, was thrown into the mix when Ogbuh had to go off injured.
With fellow debutant Fernandez already on earlier, it turned into an all new centreback pairing in the second half. As was to be expected, they started a bit shakily, and Fernandez really should have done better for the Iran goal, after Maduka Okoye had made a great save.
But when both players settled down, they held their own impressively against World Cup-bound opposition.
They may not be regular starters immediately, but there is comfort in knowing that the defensive positions are being covered. And with two big men, each standing at 6′ 4″ and in their mid-20s.
Fernandez was handed a start against Jordan and certainly looked more comfortable than he did in the first game, comfortable enough to get himself in the perfect position to score his first international goal in only his second appearance, making it look easy on the eye.
All of a sudden, it looks like defence, an area that was a headache for the Super Eagles, is now overflowing with riches.
Sor, who brings blazing speed to the team, did not get much of a chance to show it, but there is time aplenty for that, while Otele only got a few minutes in the closing stages against Jordan.
A 'keeper conundrum, again?!
For a while there, it looked like Nigeria's goalkeeping issues had finally found resolution with Nwabali between the posts. Not so fast, it seems.
Nwabali's head-scratching decision to leave Chippa United without a Plan B in place that rendered him clubless threw the goalkeeping position open.
Okoye was handed the reins in the first game. Although he was not tested enough by the Iranians, when he did face scrutiny he passed muster.
However, nothing in his performance moved the needle much in terms of getting him back into the good books of Nigerians after he missed the Nations Cup earlier in the year.
Okoye has proved himself to be a good if not great goalkeeper, but his commitment to the Nigeria cause remains in question. For Okoye to dislodge an in-form Nwabali, he would have to show much more than he did against Iran.
Francis Uzoho, who is also attempting to fight his way back into the side, got the nod against Jordan, but he also failed to convince. He could have done better for that Jordan freekick, and for most of the game, he looked like a vampire, petrified of crosses.
Adebayo Adeleye was barely any better. His timing and anticipation looked somewhat off, especially for Jordan's eventual equalizer.
Unfortunately, these -- including Amas Obasogie -- are the options, for now. A fit and in-form Nwabali remains the pick of the lot, but he will have to hitch himself to a club and work his way back to match fitness to return to the Nigeria squad and starting XI.
Nike kit was a hit
Nigeria took the opportunity of this international window to display their new threads, the 2026 kit design from equipment sponsors Nike.
As has been the case in recent years, the Nigeria kit stood out for its aesthetic, looking really pleasing to the eye during the games.
Sadly, there was little to no fanfare about the release of the new kit. Where other countries proudly announced theirs on their official social media pages, Nigeria's new design was only picked up by blogs a few days to the game.
It is possible that the lack of World Cup participation may have played it's part in the NFF acting like the new kit does not exist, which is a pity.