While Nigeria's spot at the 2018 World Cup was already secured heading into Friday's final qualifier against Algeria, the fixture in Constantine offered an ideal opportunity for several players within Gernot Rohr's squad to impress ahead of the showpiece.
Here's how the Super Eagles fared in their 1-1 draw against Les Fennecs:
5 Ikechukwu Ezenwa: The goalkeeper played with confidence and passed comfortably out from the back, but he didn't have any real saves to make. However, his handling was dodgy from crosses, and he was fortunate not to give two goals away.
9 Abdullahi Shehu: The stand-out player for the second game in a row, Shehu shutout the dangerous Yacine Brahimi, and while he did not bomb forward as usual, he still did enough to support Alex Iwobi in front of him.
7 Leon Balogun: The defender was caught out for pace on at least two occasions, but we all know he is not the quickest. However, he did have enough in the tank to twice make the saving tackle and bail Nigeria out.
7 William Troost-Ekong: Complemented Balogun superbly, and was up for the foot race to cover for the other half of the Oyinbo Wall. He also drove forward to join the attack.
8 Ola Aina: Another impressive game for the youngster in only his second international. He put Riyad Mahrez in his pocket, staying disciplined, aware and refusing to be tempted to commit early. Mahrez's early substitution was surely partly due to Aina's excellent mastering of the Leicester City wideman.
9 John Ogu provided a tidy, nerveless screen for the back four, ventured forward when he had to and came up with a neatly struck volley to put Nigeria in front. A few late tackles almost cost him, but he gets the Man of the Match vote for that goal and his all-round competent midfield display.
8 Wilfred Ndidi combined well with Ogu to break up play, but his showing was undermined by too much errant passing. It's hard not to blame the pitch though.
7 Oghenekaro Etebo was almost non-existent for all of the first half, but emerged reborn in the second. He planted himself into tackles and chased down lost causes. Could he have done more to support Tony Nwakaeme?
6 Alex Iwobi: It wasn't his best game by a long shot, as even he would agree. However, it was mostly down to the pitch. He did everything right, but on at least two occasions, his finishing let him down.
6 Kelechi Iheanacho doesn't have the best of first touches on a good day, and on a pitch this bad, this failing was even more brutally enhanced. He did deliver one good free kick, and had two others on target.
6 Tony Nwakaeme: It wasn't the best of debuts for the Israel-based hitman. He was isolated and double-teamed upfront for most of the time he spent on the pitch, and was ultimately forced to drop wide and then deep to forage. He had two half chances before being substituted, but hit both at the keeper. With better support, he could be a good asset for the Super Eagles.
Substitutes
5 Henry Onyekuru came on for Nwakaeme, and almost scored with his first real effort on the ball by beating his man and cutting inside before his effort was deflected out for a corner. The wideman at least showed desire and energy, but competition in his position remains fierce.
N/A: Ahmed Musa