Super Eagles defender Leon Balogun visited the Ghanaian dressing room to congratulate the Black Stars players and officials for qualifying for the 2022 World Cup.
The Black Stars secured a fourth World Cup qualification after holding the Eagles to a 1-1 draw inside the Moshood Abiola stadium in Abuja on Tuesday.
Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey put the Black Stars 1-0 ahead on 11 minutes with a low shot which beat Francis Uzoho in goal for the Eagles.
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But 10 minutes later William Troost-Ekong drew the Eagles level from the penalty spot after Ademola Lookman was fouled inside the box.
But the Ghanaians put in a resolute display in the second half as they came under heavy pressure from their hosts and eventually sealed qualification.
And despite the disappointment of missing out of the World Cup, Balogun still found time to visit the dressing room and congratulated both players and officials.
The Rangers defender, in a video published on ghanasoccernet.com, went to each member of the team to hug and shake them for achieving the feat.
Meanwhile, the Black Stars will know their group opponents at this year’s World Cup as the draw will hold later today (Friday).
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COMMENTS
Very nice gesture. It’s not the end of the world, Nigeria will certainly bounce back.
Sportsmanship par excellence. Thanks for appreciating Balogun’s gesture, but will the very unenlightened Ghanaians know this? Very crude ones like that SELFMADE FOOL called Osimhen unprintable names. I was so enraged, but I won’t visit his sins on other Ghanaians that come my way. Do you know that Ghana, Cameroon and Senegal will be supported by millions of SE fans?
Anyway, these issues are beyond his mental carrying power.
Nigeria will surely bounce back.
Cruel?? U watching the world with only one eye!!
When ur bothers were calling us shoe makers, common Ghana etc what did u tell them?
Am just asking tho
Osimehn is the reason the abuja fans destroyed their own staduim because he was feeding them fake news of how Ghanaian fans harassed them in the stadium!! Do u remember that dude?
I said it here several times that he feeding the abuja fans wrong information will make the fans retaliate against our fans in abuja and I was proven right!!
U stupid bastard!! I know a lot of people ll bear me out on this when I said that osimehn should stop giving interviews because he doesn’t know how to talk!!
Go back to my comments and remind ur self dude
Lookman said that he enjoyed the atmosphere in Kumasi staduim but stupid, retarded osimehn came back to Nigeria and gave the abuja faithfuls fake news and this contributed to the mayhem we saw in the stadium!
A caf official died and ur own stadium has been vandalized because of idiotic bastard who called himself osimehn!!
U bloody bastard
You lack sense, should he lie? That’s what happened so why shouldn’t he talk ?, What are you doing here? Sabi Ghana don quailfy don’t come back here again I still dey vex. PS: anyone that abuse me God and Allah will **** the person
@ Selfmade, You are coming to Nigerian site, that shows inferiority, at first place, you are abusing Osimhen and calling him liar, Pls show us evidence to counter his claims, you were never in Kumasi and You are saying Osimhen lied,. Why must he lie?, the guy gave an honest report of what he experienced, and why must You even be mocking Nigerians because you qualifed for the world cup, A tournament we have gone to 6 times including the Last 3, All the games Ghana lost including to Morocco and Comoros did anyone mock you.? You always over celebrate any victory over Nigeria, while Nigeria keeps on winning international trophies more than you (at all levels and both genders) NFF trophy cabinet is more decorated your own, (11 times women champion na beans??) Even Osimhen that you are mocking has much more value globally than any Ghana player ( including Thomas Partey) so please in your own interest leave this site, go to Ghana site and relate with your people, Leave this site alone I beg you.
Go and ticked urself lol
Wldnt even bother and besides do u read and watch news from cnn, fox, abc etc so is that an inferiority complex too?
Most Nigerians are indeed ignorant wow
It shall never be well with picnic and former coach rohr, for filling the super eagles with foreign born players. Imagine going into the dressing room to congratulate your bitter rival. I said it, the players doesn’t know the importance of the game going by their lackadaisical display. This here just confirmed my suspicion. All this foreign born players should have a quota, not that they will dominate the team. If it were Nigeria born players, though they might be limited technically, they can’t perform like there is nothing at stake. Take ola Aina for instance, there were no urgency in his play. They don’t no know or appreciate the rivalry with Ghana.
Not really a strange gesture from mixed race person. He is half Nigerian and half German, he’s brought up in a German culture. He has a total different perception of how the African relates to things.
Time to learn from history. It is very sad that Nigeria usually forget history so soon. When NFF was about to sack Genet Rohr, some of us who had followed Nigerian football for about 30years now, shouted that history has never favored sacking a coach who meets his target.
In 2002 we sacked Amodu Shuaibu who qualified us for the World cup and went for a New one. We went for Festus Onigbinde and what was the result. It was one of our worst World cup outing only 1 point, ending at the bottom of the table.
In 20010 we sacked the same Amodu Shuaibu who returned to qualify us for the World cup and went for Lars Lagaback. The reason was we wanted a World class coach. And what was the result. we ended up at the bottom of the table again in a World cup hosted in African soil with only 1 point.
History repeated itself in 2022, sacking a coach in a World cup year who qulified us to Nations cup and World cup playoff. And went for our own Agustine Eguavoen. What was the reason. To aviod disaster, we wanted to play beautiful football. What was the result we fell out from Nations cup in round of 16 one of the worst in so many years. We failed to qualify for the World cup.
Another history to learn from was in 2005, we became tired of foreign coaches and went for ‘OUR OWN’ We had Coach of Christian Chukwu Assisted by Agustine Eguavoen and we eventual lost the 2006 world cup ticket to Angola. Agustine Eguavoen became the coach but was later sacked in 2007 due to poor performance.
So, if we remember our history we will not keep repeating the same mistakes over and over again. Nigeria has never done well whenever they sack a coach that has been meeting his targets. Get a coach, give him his targets if he meets it, then it only make sense to keep to the terms of the contract. But when he dosen’t meet his target then he should be shown the way out.
This is my humble submission.
God bless u @ikeben, oil dey ur head… May grace never depart from ur life! It’s not as if Rohr was perfect, but the timing of his sack was suicidal, I am a Public health consultant and we work with targets, as long as you meet targets, ur grants continue. If the donor has a change of plans, u will be communicated with and given time to close out appropriately. The goon squad called NFF screwed up big time and repeated history that was meant to be buried for good!
It is called KARMA…!!!
We warned them against it all…..its not like we didnt. We cited several examples right from 1989 of how it always ended in tears…but the hunger and greed in their bellies blocked their ears and their brains. They had seen food that was about to be done on fire, go they gathered their plates ready to eat….LMAOoooo…and cooked up all sorts of lies to ease out the man who laboured to fetch the firewood, go to the market to buy the ingredients and cooked the food.
You cant reap where you did not so….especially when you want to reap by a gang-up and with a campaign of lies and calumny. Lies can run for a thousand years, but it will only take 1 day for the truth to catch up….LMAOooo
Liars/Failure united members lied Rohr was only succeeding because of the individual talents he has which Nigeria has not had since 1994…..LMAOoo….Soot filled brain coaches came and took over the same individual talents we’ve never had since 1994 who succeeding before and winning games on their own accord and gave us our worst spell since 1982 with cataclysmic failure within 3 months…..LMAOooo
They lied to us that Rohr had no tactical input into the team only for the players to come out confessing that he used to give them strict instructions on how to go about their play and that it was their own that was just pouring them on the pitch to do whatever comes to their brains. Our CFs were always among topscorers all the time because there was always a calculated game plan to get the ball to their feet to score……but under african guadiolas, even Serie A and Bundesliga strikers were struggling to score
They said Rohr’s tactics were “Outre”, outdated and had no pattern…..yet it delivered on every mandate given by the NFF and produced top scorers almost each time we procecuted any major assignments….LMAOooo….At least we have seen the results of their Mr Total Failure….sorry…Total Football and his 9 dumb assistants with their very predictable 30 years obsolete WINGPLAY that every intern coach that has just left coaching school can neutralize without needing to even do pre-analysis or opposition scouting…..LMAOoooo
Ghana played 4-3-3 in the 1st half in Abuja and got the goal they wanted……immediately the 2nd half started they, took off 2 wide forwards, Jordan Ayew and Fatua Ishaku and switched to 3-6-1 with 1 wing back and 1 midfielder doubling up on both of our wingers on each flank and we became useless for the entire 2nd half…..LMAoooo.
Now that is a team that has a technical crew….LMAOoo. What we had on our own bench were mechanic workshop apprentices who are only good for running errands to go and buy bread and beans……LMAOooo.
Instead of their owns to switch tactics when things were not working they persisted and even started removing the most productive players on the pitch….it was 10 minutes to go the dumb heads remembered they had experienced big-game minded players like Ighalo and Ahmed Musa on the bench and then switched to a bizzare 5-0-5 formation with nobody in the midfield….LMAOOooo.
A whole national team coach and technical director of the FA opened his mouth wide to tell the whole world he cannot change tactics in the middle of a tournament…..LMAOooo
They said Rohr was a mechanic, a PE teacher, Belmadi’s boy etc…at least he never failed…bikonu what should we call these failures ….LMAOoooooo.
Karma does not smile…..LMAOooooo…It deals with you mercilessly.
Let me hear anybody mention local coach or 94 set again on this platform…..LMAOooo…the thunder that will kill that person will trek all the way from Venezuela to come and kill the person….LMAOoooo
Mr Drey, the word outre was used by me within the context of how Onuachu had been unable to replicate his club fortunes for the Super Eagles. It is an assessment I will stand up to and one which has basis.
If you are looking for someone to pour your frustrations and bitterness on, look elsewhere young man.
I did say it at the time that you will regurgitate the outre word out of context and you never disappoint to please.
Off course you should know by now that I never disappoint. Neither do I flip flop around like an alternating circuit because I want to curry favors from the popular side even if its the side of destruction.
You should be more concerned now that its not only Onuachu that cannot replicate club fortunes in the national team anymore….LMAOOo.
I hope you enjoyed the honey-moon while it lasted.
And let me say it right here, right now, if I see it fit to talk about any local coach or any 1994 Super Eagles product, I will do so whilst in readiness to return fire for fire for anyone who as much as insult me for expressing my right as a Nigerian citizen to express my point of view.
Congratulations…! I propose a toast to that……LMAO.
Mr loud mouth..engage na. Ode oshi!
Sebi you think say na everybody be your age mate that you talk to disrespectfully on this platform.
Should Balogun have Congratulated Ghana?
Super Eagles impressive center defender Leon Balogun, whose international football days are now slowly winding down due to creeping age, took to social media to express his sadness on how the team’s efforts weren’t adequate in clinching a world cup berth.
Nigeria narrowly missed out on 2022 world cup qualification due to a noxious and extremely out of date away goals rule despite holding Ghana to an impressive 1:1 aggregate score line in March.
“The harder it is to accept that our best, individually as well as collectively, wasn’t good enough to make world cup qualification happen – even more so given the (intense and ageless) rivalry [between Nigeria and Ghana].” Said Balogun.
Despite the intense rivalry, Balogun is currently fêted in Ghanaian media for being magnanimous in defeat after being pictured congratulating Ghana players in their dressing room after the infamous Abuja encounter.
This gesture has attracted mixed response from the Super Eagles fan base, some of whom frowned at it for two reasons: 1) the rivalry between Nigeria and Ghana; and 2) the monumental disappointment of missing out on the world cup.
Other Nigeria fans praise Balogun for his chivalry, maturity and willingness to mend fences rather than perpetuate bitterness that has accompanied the Nigeria – Ghana rivalry over the years.
Without trying to come across as high and mighty, because I’m not, but I value life over football, I value good family upbringing over football, I value tight-knit family over football, I value compassion over football, I value Nigerians having good health care system, good food to eat, good drinking water, regular electricity supply, good roads over football. As far as I’m concerned, there is more to life than qualifying for The World Cup. It is incomprehensible for me that some people would wish death on other human beings because of soccer result. And we wonder why innocent people get poisoned to death every day in our society? Dark heart! Also explains why our people has continued to be at the bottom of the pile.
@ Tony you are my man from today onward going by this very very matured post you’ve put up there. Football is just football; a game and nothing more.
One team is the better/best team is only a function of time, and time in itself is temporary; for the one you defeated today, will come back to defeat you at some other time. So why all these hate, insults, death wish, raining of curses, pulling others down syndrome etc. This forum is everyday becoming a very very disgusting platform to read/share football ideas.
Please guys let us stop calling egu “our own” He is not our own.
That our own phenomenon is too big for big time failure like egu. Let him simply bear him papa name abeg.
Hi Mr Drey. I absolutely enjoyed my honeymoon while it lasted. Rather that than stay miserable all this time marauding the place up and down looking for someone to blame for your sorrow.
I should be more concerned you say, you make me laugh. I will be concerned with whatever I choose to be concerned with, it is nobody’s busy. Concern yourself with whatever pleases you, that, my friend is your perogative.
Like I said Mr Drey, as a Nigeria fan, I THOROUGHLY ENJOYED OUR VICTORIES AGAINST EGYPT, GUINEA BISSAU AND SUDAN. I RECORDED AND CONTINUE TO WATCH BOTH GAMES WITH RELISH AND EXCITEMENT. Rather that than be a miserable fans flip flipping all over CSN looking for who to feud. Hahahaha.
My dear, if it escaped you, let me repeat and reinforce it: I thoroughly enjoyed my honeymoon period (I am even starting to enjoy aspects of the Tunisia and Ghana). I hope you enjoyed your period in the jungle of sadness, despair and hopelessness that you plunged into since December 2021. Stay in that wilderness of bitterness, something tells me you love it there.
Again, did you get that Mr Drey, I wholeheartedly enjoyed my honeymoon period while it lasted. My question to you is, who is being miserable working out for you, mate? Hahahaa
Hahahaha…I hope those 3 matches give you enough joy to last till 2026……LMAOooo…that is if NFF does not replace these failures with another 9 from the so-called 94 world cup sqaud….LMAOoo.
I also hope the 3 matches replace all the revenue, sponsorships, endorsements and career enhancement profiles that has been lost thanks to your “un-outre” failures.
Some people even lost their scribing skills since Tuesday night….LAMOooo
Who has now been plunged into the jungle of sadness, despair and hopelessness for the next 4 years now….LMAOoooo..
Dr Drey, honeymoon period, by its very nature and name, doesn’t last forever. Sadly the marriage to Eguavoen that came out of that honeymoon period produced the offspring of disappointment that your illustrate above.
It is such a pity and a true tragedy.
But, I kid you not, I did enjoy that honeymoon period against Egypt, Guinea Bissau and Sudan ‘in isolation’. I will always enjoy the match against Egypt particularly fondly.
As per the way forward, only God knows. Me I have the Women’s games to look forward to. I pray the cancer ravaging the the Super Eagles doesn’t infect the women’s game. I pray the Super Falcons make it to next year’s world Cup by lifting this year’s Afcon.
I can only pray, sadly they are under the management of the same disastrous NFF and fumbling Sports ministry.
@ Drey, everyone in this forum wants SE to succeed, no One wants SE to fail, Eguavoen is not as bad as you are touting him to be, I saw some changed tactics AMD formations at the Abuja game but it didn’t work. If Osimhen timed his run better and didn’t stray to offside, VAR couldn’t have ruled out our goal and we would have been at the World Cup, then no one could have remembered that Ghanaians changed their formations. Some team’s stick to their playing Philosophy, some time it works sometimes it fails, that’s the beauty of the game. And please, stop wishing anyone death, football can’t be compared to life, pls take this as a game. Even Balogun has realized that this is just a game, that’s why he went to congratulate the Ghanaians.
My Drey, I accept your toast. Let’s just wait for any indigenous coach to excel with irrefutable records and succeed with verifiable records, then we will continue this chat, okay?
It was a match between a focused,disciplined and patriotic Ghana and all the opposites in Nigeria and what an avenue for the result to manifest.
@ Tony you are my man from today onward going by this very very matured post you’ve put up there. Football is just football; a game and nothing more.
One team is the better/best team is only a function of time, and time in itself is temporary; for the one you defeated today, will come back to defeat you at some other time. So why all these hate, insults, death wish, raining of curses, pulling others down syndrome etc. This forum is everyday becoming a very very disgusting platform to read/share football ideas.
Leon Balogun’S Actions are an expression of the son of who he is . To the person who identified him from his German , you need to know this that his other roots is from the Yoruba region as Leon is actually from the ijesha People of Osun state . His name Balogun means War General and the Ijeshas are industrious people who are well known in business and various walks of life such as the first riches man in Nigeria Da Rochas to music legends like Majek Fashek and so much more . He’s got the blood of his people in his veins and he’s also got their personality . So what he did is also basically an act of maturity as a human being apart from being a player . But one thing I LL like to ask any Ghanian reading this and it this ; can anyone of your players do what Balogun just did in the midst of defeat ? That’s the question I’ll leave for many of you to answer as I have been faced with a lot of Ghanians throughout the years and one problem with them is Ego .
That you all hail Balogun today doesn’t mean you won’t insult Nigerians tomorrow.
Balogun carries the manners of who exactly we are.
Abeg which leon balogun are you referring to that comes from Ijesha Na wa oooo. Abeg don’t become that lying parrot dr dry. Abeg forumites please help inquire where balogun’s father is from. People are just quick to throw comments here without doing proper research
Hehehehe…you have become shina today….? LMAOoooo. Keep it up.
Honestly, it’s really baseless wasting time dragging issues with you. I commend those whose trade banters with you on this platform. Its your prerogative to believe who is replying here. I don’t have to disguise myself like others do, and i believe you also do the same. So have a great night
Hahahaha…..filthy liar is already on the edge…LMAOooo. The evil man runneth when no one pursueth. We have not even asked him questions yet, he is already confessing. From Ade to Kingsley to Kenneth….now na Shina…LMAOooo
Charcoal calling kettle black….LMAOoo. And these are the useless beings who just wake up from their drug addictions and begin to accuse Dr.Drey and pointing their filthy fingers of pejury without basis or proof.
“I believe you do the same”…..LMAOOoo. I guess you too have used IP filtering and Quantum data Algorithm like your useless master to establish that Dr.Drey is 7 other persons….LMAOoo. You bunch think every one is a pathetic desperate nitwit like y’all…?
Typical Nigeria criminal……LMAOoo…once you catch them red handed they start looking for validation for their crimes by equating alter egos.
“I believe you also do the same…” LMAOooo.
I am not that much of a lowlife.
Balogun, Ekong, Aina and Simon Moses should be investigated for our world cup ouster. In Abuja those 3 senior defenders were annoyingly slowing down the game when the table was against SE. Not minding that Osimhen was calling for the balls but those traitors were busy sleeping with their unfruitful passes behind with no urgency. Even Moses in the double leg was suspiciously loosing the balls to Ghana with his stupid dribbles.
Osimhen was single-handedly subduing the Ghana defense in the 1st half especially after our penalty goal. The boy was highly motivated.
Pls Balogun should stay away from SE henceforth along with his traitor Rohr!!!
Remember the senior players who protested the sack of Rohr via letter to NFF? And the ones Rohr said he begged for them not to quit SE?
What happened has happened.
Imagine no SE player on the 11 could play an accurate hot shot on target like Emenike, Rashidi, Taiye Taiwo, Oliseh, etc? It’s a shame. This is one area SE stars need to improve on including Osiy and Ndidi.
As it is, I will move for a rebuilding of SE from home, the streets of Nigeria, football academies and NPFL are flooded with God given gigantic talents.
We Nigerians are strong and talented. All we need is a tactically sound Coach and trainers who can groom the talents and mix them with some selected foreign pros during games.
Leon Balogun is very unpatriotic! He is happy because his German brother Rohr worked secretly with Ghana against SE (my suspicion though).
At the time every true Patrotic SE player was grieving the WC ticket loss and the pains of the Nigerian fans, behold Balogun went celebrating Ghana.
Are you telling me that if Balogun’s $10million was involved he would be congratuting them for his loss immediately?
Eguavoen, this is a big lesson to you, you were trying to follow Rohr’ structure completely even coming out to praise him prior to the AFCON crash but not knowing that the man was nursing venomous hatred against you for taking his job and you throw caution to the wind on-the-job.
This may be your very last opportunity with the SE Eguavoen! Even though I never opted for you in the first place but better options like, Egbo, Manu, Finidi, Rufai/Enyeama, Emenalo, Amunike, etc.
No thanks to Picmilk NFF for the pains and shame you brought Nigeria. You forced Eguavoen on us when we had better indigenous options!
You are talking nonsense. Besides Those guys have clean mind and can never support the maltreatment given to Rohr who built them to become a formidable team. No wonder non of them congratulated Equavon during his appointment.
Balogun has the right to congratulate a team with an excellent sport ministry, proactive FA and sound/knowledgeable Technical Crew. You can go hug transformation with your nonsense patriotism.
Can everyone submit their age, occupation, & country of residence, please? I read many comments here and I begin to scratch my head.
I just want to figure out the mechanics that drives your thoughts. Dr Drey, deo, & co, I’ll be keen.
Starting with me.
32/Obstetrician/Canada.
Respectfully, thanks.
Are you an HR looking for people to recruit?
Na lie you go just dey get, especially from that bogus liar, There are people who have challenged him here to prove his identity and he has failed to do so, so i will not be surprised if he is from one of the slumps in Makoko.
You didn’t need to bring Dr Drey into this. His analyses are always perfect.