After a colourful and exciting first
round of FIFA Confederations Cup matches that featured a flurry of
goals, it is perhaps no surprise to see a couple of forwards at the top
of the Castrol Index.
Almost half of the 16 goals seen so far
in Brazil came in one match – Nigeria’s 6-1 win over tournament
newcomers Tahiti – and the hat-trick scored by Nnamdi Oduamadi in Belo
Horizonte has made him the Index’s early frontrunner.
What was impressive about Oduamadi’s
contribution was his finishing accuracy. While Nigeria’s six goals came
from 17 shots, the 22-year-old – who spent last season in Italy’s Serie B
with Varese – scored with three from four. In fact he had just three
goal attempts inside the Pacific Islanders’ penalty box but was in the
right place to put the ball in the net on each occasion.
While Oduamadi’s treble earned him 9.55
points, Italy’s Mario Balotelli took 9.38 for his lively performance
against Mexico, capped by the winning goal with 12 minutes remaining.
Balotelli was a central figure throughout Sunday’s entertaining contest,
offering an early statement of intent with a shot just over the
crossbar and two more straight at goalkeeper Jose Corona. Indeed he had
seven shots in total and his persistence paid off near the end when he
powered through the Mexico defence and struck the winner with a fierce
low drive.
It was reward for a display that excited
the Maracana crowd, and not only because of the AC Milan striker’s
shooting. A foul on him led to Andrea Pirlo’s typically exquisite
free-kick which opened the scoring and he was a thorn in the side of the
Mexico defence throughout.
Somebody who had a less fraught
assignment than the Mexico centre-backs was Nigeria’s Uwa Echiejile, who
sits third in the Index compiled by the Castrol Performance Analysts
with a score of 9.35 – making him the top-ranked defender.
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