Gernot Rohr’s men are in dire need of a win in the Group D clash on Friday evening, having bowed 2-0 to group leaders Croatia in their 2018 World Cup opening game in Kaliningrad.
Heimir Hallgrímsson’s side has shown to be a dicey team so far in the championship following their 1-1 draw with Argentina, and they would be gunning for a result which would aid their qualification for the Round of 16.
However, the former Ajax winger counsels the three-time African champions to be cautious when they meet the Europeans – especially when it comes to setpieces.
“They don’t really have the big names. They are a real team - I think you can’t really single someone out,” Babangida told Goal.
“They work altogether, they don’t have like Messi at Argentina, Ronaldo at Portugal or a Modric at Croatia. Iceland are well set together. “The problem with African teams is the set pieces. I think Nigeria are going to be more careful with set pieces.
“ We know they are really good at it. But I think that is something the coach needs to take care off. The way I see it they are not going to play defensive, they are going to play attacking football with Iceland on the counter-attack.”
Rohr’s formation backfired heavily against Croatia in their opening fixture, however, the 44-year-old offers the kind of formation the team should use to prevail. “The 4-5-1 is really his (Rohr’s) formation, he always uses a lot of players in the midfield,” he continued.
“He is having a lot of problems with changing the system now. But that is what he has been playing since he came to Nigeria two years ago.
“Well I were the coach, I would use the wings more often. It is going to be very busy from the center, so I use the wing. I’d go with 4-4-2 with wingers, but not 3-5-2 or 4-5-1.”
