The Wild Beasts of Central African Republic produced an strong performance to beat Super Eagles 1-0 in their 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying Group C fixture at the Teslim Balogun Stadium Lagos on Thursday, Completesports.com reports..
Karl Namngandaa netted the decisive goal in the last minute of the game.
Gernot Rohr’s charges struggled in their efforts to break down the visitors defence in the opening minutes of the game, to no avail.
Also Read – Live Blogging: Nigeria vs Central African Republic (CAR) 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifier
Napoli forward Victor Osimhen had a shot blocked in the 21st minute as the hosts piled up pressure on the the opponents defence.
Osimhen had a chance to put the Super Eagles ahead five minutes later but he blasted his shot wide after he was put through on goal by Kelechi Iheanacho.
The visitors had the ball in the back of the net a minute after the hour mark but the goal was chalked off for a foul on Jamilu Collins.
The Super Eagles continued piling pressure on the visitors’ defence with little or nothing to show for their efforts.
Iheanacho, who picked up an injury late in the first half was replaced by Taiwo Awoniyi after the break.
The pattern of play continue in the second half with the Super Eagles dominating play, while the Wild Beasts sat back in defence.
Osimhen missed another chance to break the deadlock in the 52nd minute. The Napoli striker hit the crossbar after superb pass from Chidera Ejuke, while Awoniyi directed the rebound wide.
Francis Uzoho, who was virtually on holiday in the game produced a fine save to deny the Wild Beasts in the 66th minute.
The Super Eagles responded immediately with Osimhen directing his header from a Moses Simon cross wide.
Samuel Kalu took the place of Simon in the 71st minute as the Eagles frantically pressed for a breakthrough in the game.
Ahmed Musa also took the place of Aribo 12 minutes from time.
Namnganda netted the winning goal on the dot of 90 minutes.
The Super Eagles will travel to face the Wild Beasts in the reverse fixture at their Stade omnisport de Douala Douala Cameroon makeshift home ground on Sunday October 10.
Nigeria still top the Group C on six points. Cape Verde and CAR, on four points apiece, are in second and third positions respectively. Liberia are bottom of the group, on three points.
By James Agberebi at Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos
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42 Comments
We lost to wrong substitutions and wrong tactics against a defensive team.
Musa and Kalu didn’t impact the game.
Simon is more effective on the left wing,, the reason why he has the most assist. Ejuke should learn how to release the ball on time.
Ekong’s recovery is shocking. Whenever he goes forward he leaves a hole behind and the CAR capitalized on this wrong positioning. They had similar chances thrice and finally scored from Ekong’s error. Balogun tried to bail him but he was clumsy as well..
Play Simon from the left and utilize Aina as wing back.
352 formation will open up the game against a defensive team and the attackers will have more opportunity.
We paid dearly for wrong substitutions and the technical superiority of the CAR bench is evident. Another team that is about 100 behind us in ranking has showed Belmadi’s boy pepper..
Nigeria needs to win the next game to stand a chance of going to the world cup……We lost not because of the absence of key players but because we didn’t show urgency and intent from the beginning of the game…… Coach Rhor should creat more competitive in the team by bringing the positions of the main players under threat…….. Balogun and Ekong are too relaxed because they know they are not in anyway going to lose their shirts……. Rotation is good in all teams to enable the main players watch others perform and also to give many players game time and confidence which they will need when we are down with injury and absent players………SE
Needs a playmaker Incase of games like this in which there is little space and there is man to man marking…….
Iwobi was badly missed . His link up play and sleek passes to attackers would have help especially against a buss packing opponent like CAR
*** I’m honestly done with the super chicken of Nigeria….Just watched my last game with the national team !
Alĺ this racist diatribe in reference to Gernot Rohr shows that Nigerians are no better than the Europeans calling black players “monkey”. Painful in these insults is that Rohr’s salaries have been pocketed by corrupt Nigerians masking as a soccer federation
A disaster has happened……Now the enemies of coach Rhor will flood this place to rejoice like baboons on heat….. You can’t win all games because losing only makes us stronger and know our mistakes…… Collins offers nothing in attack he can’t even cross properly…….Moses was not crossing to my taste today with too many flat corner kicks…….Balogun and Ekong don’t coordinator balls coming from the back well and their defending is scary and weak sometimes……SE doesn’t have a play maker and the CAR took advantage of it today by playing man on man with us……..No much supply was getting to the strikers…..better game next time.
knock knock knock. Is anyone home? Seems something is gone wrong somehow. Why is there sudden quietness in the house? lolzzz….Brodas, its football. SE losing to CAR is just for us fans to come down for the very very very high horse we were riding. How we all; the players, the coaching crew, the NFF and the fans, react, is what matters. Many top footballing countries like Brazil, Argentina, England, Germany, France etc have had similar capitulation but were good at reacting postively to re-establish their greatness.
Hahahahaha… Christmas has come early for them today. That time of the year when people whose mouths have been closed for the larger part of the year can finally open has come.
They should please enjoy this festive period till Sunday when we extend our lead on the table.
I hope they will find the fortitude to comeback on Sunday with the same confidence and gusto they have rushed out of their covens tonight.
Oga Rohr, with the way I am feeling tonight, now I know how it feels to be owed for 8 months. Pls if na because of your 8 months salary and years of unpaid bonuses you have chosen to punish us this way….biko mmaka chukwu wer’anyi ebere biko….show mercy for heavens sake.
Lol. Where do we start? Obviously, the game plan of the CAR coach worked. Park the bus for 80 minutes, then throw in your strikers with 10 minutes to go. With Nigeria under pressure and camped in CAR’s goal post, the fresh-legged strikers catch the jaded Nigeria 2-man defence off guard with long balls into the 18 yard.
Iwobi was obviously missed. No creative midfielders. No Ndidi or Etebo. Hmmm… Just sit down and look we dey now. I have a feeling Nigeria will scrape through this round. The second round with Morroco, Tunisia, Senegal, Cameroun and other powerhouses is what one can’t be too sure about.
Suddenly, the group is opened up again with Cape Verde on 4 points and both Liberia and CAR on 3 points. If Nigeria manages to win in Douala and Cape Verde does a double over Liberia, they’ll be desperate and confident of picking 3 points here and the group ticket
I have nothing to say but a shape to Rohr and his boys. Losing at how is not acceptable in any way. No excuse. Shame
Really loosing is not acceptable,well tell ur NFF to pay the coach and the boys who are playing.I knew this was going to happen soooner than later.
Sack the old stupid coach. Join to carry this placard. SACK, SACK !!!! SACK !!!! the coach now. FIRE !! FIRE !!!!!!! FIRE !!!!!!!!! the coach now.
Am an honest football fan, and let our lads go back and watch the game again, Mikel was called the catalyst why, he interpretes the game, i expected one player just one player to show the his maturity by opening the packed opponents, thats what Mikel brings, even Ndidi won’t do that, he will play with the flow of the opponents, now we are were we are, lets grow up, these lads should know now that a record has been broken, they the opponents in their dreams never thought of ever winning the Super Eagles in their home, now they beat you, it will be hell difficult to beat them in their yeye pitch, at least Telsim pitch wasn’t too bad today, we lost, let’s grow up and go there and beat them silly,its only Nigeria that can represent AFRICAN well in the world cup with few like Ghana, and senegal, what CAR gonna do in the world cup? what cape verde gonna do in the world cup? NIGERIA is a die hard name for FIFA, get Maduka back on goal post, now he must realise discipline comes first, you gotta report to camp early and stop that nonsense, if not Ahmed Musa is captian, he has no business no more in the super eagles, lets encourage our boys, Balogun Ekong played well, but a bad day in the office, Collins saved us in Cape Verde, lets not forget his efforts, get the formation right coachy. Nigeria will win them in their country do or die, they should go there and die there. sad we lost, dust your selves and lets go. Lets stop this blame game.
This team needs creativity.bad sub also killed the team today
Though the result was disappointing but this is a wake up call that no team is a walk over in football any longer. Forget about ranking that they were ranked 100 plus below Nigeria. Who could have ever belief that they can play like that today even the super eagles players themselves were shocked when they were squaring up properly on the field of play because what they thought would have been an easy nut to crack now turn an arduous task. That is why its good to be humble and throw all your arsenal even if you re playing against a fourth division side. Musa and one former ex players said they will get d 6 maximum point but what happened we were humbled? Lesson learnt in a very bitter way hope the players will put their act together and react in the next match. Wish them all the best. As for those who are in the habits of blaming the coach at all times I think your food don served won’t be surprised at all over to you…
WOW WHY AM I NOT SURPRISED!!!!
FANS OF THE COACHES CHOICE OF MIDFIELDERS AND TACTICS I HOPE YOU HAVE VERY GOOD EXPLANATIONS FOR THIS LOSS. I HOPE IT WONT BE BECAUSE IHEANACHO GOT INJURED OR BECAUSE WE HAVE ALOT OF MIDFIELDERS OUT DUE TO INJURY BECAUSE NOTHING EXCUSES THIS LOSS.
IM GLAD IT HAPPENED BECAUSE NOW WE KNOW THAT THIS TEAM ISN’T READY TO WIN ANY COMPETITION. WITH ALL OUR “STAR PLAYERS” AND “LARGE POOL OF PROFESSIONALS” ALL OVER EUROPE, WE CANT WIN WHEN IT MATTERS BECAUSE WE ARE STILL DEPENDENT ON A SELECTED FEW WHO WHEN UNAVAILABLE WE GET THIS KIND OF RESULTS.
ITS NOT A SHOCK DEFEAT TO THE SUPER EAGLES AS THE NEWS READS BUT ITS A WARNING TO THOSE IN THE COACHING CREW, AND THOSE WHO BELIEVE THAT A FEW INDIVIDUAL TALENTS CAN MAKE UP A TEAM.
WE WERE CRYING, SHOUTING ASKING FOR MORE CREATIVE MIDFIELDERS, QUALITY MIDFIELDERS IN THE TEAM BUT OUR COACH DOESN’T BELIEVE WE NEED THEM INSTEAD CALLING UP STIFF MIDFIELD PLAYERS BECAUSE THEY PLAY IN THE PREMIERSHIP AND BIG COMPETITIONS IN EUROPE.
THE COACH HAS NOTHING TO LOSE, HE IS BEING OWED ALOT OF MONEY PLUS NFF CANT SACK HIM WITHOUT PAYING HIM IS MONEY. PLUS WHO WILL THEY APPOINT AS COACH IF ROHR IS SACKED?
MOST OF THE COACHES IN NIGERIA CANT HANDLE THE SUPER EAGLES.
LET THEM GO TO CAMEROON AND LETS SEE IF THEY CAN DO BETTER.
MAY BE THE COACH SHOULD START AHMED MUSA AS THE CREATIVE FORCE, BONKE AS THE ATTACKING MIDFIELDER AND FRANK AS THE DEAD BALL SPEACIALIST.
When I raised this concern about our defenders not classy enough to be in the Top 20 in Africa few days ago, someone said that the article is trash, now we can see for ourself. Ekong and Balogun were chasing the ball against 1 striker and ended up gifting the striker a free strike on goal…………shambolic.
This match seriously exposed the tactical deficiencies of the Coaching crew, no set pieces player noteworthy in the team, many corner kicks and free kicks were all wasted, no incisive defence splitting passes, on and off ball positioning was very poor. Substitutions were not done to correct obvious lapses in the game, GR match reading ability is close to Zero.
Ahmed Musa surely has nothing much to offer in the SE for now, Simon is best suited for a substitute role, his crosses are very poor and hardly troubled the defenders
Aribo surely is not suited for African football, maybe he can thrive better at Tournaments though but he hasn’t really impressed me so far in all our competitive matches, no ruggedity, losses ball easily and never do much at recovering, no forward surge and cannot hold the ball well.
Ejuke should be given that no 10 role in the absence of Iwobi, GR should see what he can do in that position during training sessions, drill him hard for that role and see how he will fare. His dribbling runs in tight spaces will help in creating chances for the strikers surely.
Bassey and Aina should play wing backs in the next game while Akpoguma should be tried to partner Ekong and Balogun as a 3 central backs formation
Our midfield needs a real shake up, I will prefer trying Onyeka to shield the defenders, Bonke to play central midfield while Ejuke could be the playmaker
Awoniyi or Iheanacho can be a supporting striker to Osimhen, this 1-3-5-2 formation is what we need to unlock this CAR defence while maintaining our integrity at the back for the forays of the CAR forwards. Am sure CAR will want to come out to play in the return leg believing they can now beat us easily again thereby leaving space to operate for our forward line
And Okoye has served his punishment so he needs to get his spot back on Sunday. Thank God he wasn’t in Goal today, the fans would’ve roasted him alive for not keeping a clean sheet again
The SE really drop the ball today but am very much hopeful that if the coaching crew can do the needful as stated above, we will come out victorious on Sunday
You are a saddist why not fault of the players, and you go and coach the Nigeria team, saying the coach isn’t good, we lost we lost, we move on, stop be a hater.
@Presh, if you have been a regular on this forum you will know am one of the supporters of GR and SE, Calling me a saddist with my write up means you know nothing about football. Or that you were simply a nonentity with zero medula oblongata who cannot reason congruently.
The truth should be said even if Rohr is my Uncle or not. The role of a tactician is to read and analyse the game adequately in order to me productive substitution that will impact the match. Even a PE teacher will know that after the 1st half mess, we need someone who can bring some creativity into the middle pack to unlock the stubborn defence. I would’ve brought in Calvn Bassey to the left wing back and draft Ejuke into the no 10 role when Aribo was substituted, Leaving Awoniyi and Osimhen as twin strikers while Ejuke mesmerise in the middle and Bassey make forays on the left wing to release crosses for the twin Strikers to pounce on.
@Presh, read this my comments again with clear mind and see what am talking about
I have said in the past that I prefer that the SE win matches and I am proved wrong and “put to shame” (according to insinuations here) than for them to be defeated and I am proved right.
I don’t care if my worst enemy is the coach as long as we win games.
One day, even the most dedicated worshipers of Coach Rohr will realise that they have been backing the wrong horse.
Mind you, the coach is a nice guy. He helped stabilise our football when we needed it the most. But he reached his peak at the last AFCON. That is when the NFF should have said a big “thank you” and let him go. Instead, they give him a new contract.
As for Mr. Rohr, he missed the opportunity to leave when the ovation was loudest. Instead of leaving with his head high, he accepted a humiliating contract that included some disrespectful clauses. Now they owe him salaries…
I STILL BELIEVE WE WILL QUALIFY OUT OF THIS GROUP. In fact, I expect our dear eagles to come out blazing in the next game. But my fear is that we may meet a more determined opposition in the knock out phase and the rest will be history. But like I said earlier, I do hope I am proved wrong.
Bring nwakali to this team stop this players in five top team in Europe should be invited into super eagles,after all these ones that defeated ur team play their club football.
In the end a loss will always fall on the coach because he is supposed to be the tactician, the one responsible for making adjustments when things are not going according to plan. And in this game Rohr did not make any tactical changes even after the halftime break. All he did was the usual waiting til later in the match to make poor substitutions that don’t affect the game. He went ahead and played Iheanacho at number 10 after been warned not to do that, and when he subbed him off after the half he put awoniyi in that same position and these are pure strikers. Head scratching. Apart from the coach the players made some poor decisions, and gave away possession too many times. There needs to be more competition at CB, truly ekong and balogun may be too relaxed. I believe apkoguma, omeruo and awaziem if given a chance can do a better job because I believe they are more athletic than balogun and ekong. I LOVE that we lost because it is a wake up call. That Rohr needs to be a better tactician especially during a live match. It’s well.
Pay the coach and the players.
Debtor nor de go to prison, only thief go there. So what if the coach is owned? He is too old and should go back to where he came from. He can’t even read a match and make a good and wise decisions.
If I were Coach Rohr ,I will just resign and go away to save my face. He is emptied upstairs. No more good luck to Nigeria as long as Buhari is still the head of state.
Super Eagles to Super Chickens under Berti Voghts and now Super Duck under Rohr.
Shame to all his supporters on this forum
Bad day in the office for the super eagles! I am feeling so sad right now because I didn’t expect this result we got but that’s football…
Rohr should pls give us a no.10 who is skilful and can distribute the ball very well because in a game like this that’s what we need to open their stubborn defensive tactics…he should have switched ejuke to 10 as it was glaring that he could open those their stubborn defensive tactics..
I another thing is that rohr should tell these guys to always start their game very purposeful… Super eagles always start their game very slowly which is not helping matters at all..
It is very unfortunate that collins is an old version of LB not modern day LB as his bumping forward was not inspiring couple with his poor delivery and no speed as well.
I still believe in this team. Best of luck comes Sunday guys!
It was just a bad day in the office for the Super Eagles. They should bounce back more powerfully on Sunday to either win outright or grind out a draw.
They did their best today but were undone by an unfortunate slip by Balogun who incidentally tried to Instigate attacking initiatives with his forward drives.
Really, one would have expected Nigeria to create clear-cut chances today but they showed little invention.
Whatever they did today just didn’t click.
Hopefully things will come together for them Sunday.
At this stage I want Akpoguma paired with balogun. Calvin start ahead of collins. Simon should sit abeg.
3-5-2 please.
—- Akpoguma -Balogun -Awaziem/Bassey
Aina — onyeka—Aribo–Bonke–Ejuke
——- Iheanacho –Osimehen—–
Aribo as 10
Everyone know the knock out round is the big deal no need to say but Nigeria will qualify irrespective of who we meet mark my word. Loosing today’s match is a blessing in disguise the guy really did their best. U can’t talk of the team not playing well afterall we dominated as expected until when unbelievable happened because the guys were trying to win at all cost. Things like this happened in football thank God return leg is in Cameroon. A certain Serif team beat almighty Madrid in their newly refurbished Bernabeu recently. We have always been telling you names, caliber and volume of players don’t win football any longer. Blame Gernot Rohr as you like but he is not at fault i repeat he is only a technical advisor not a miracle worker lol
Much love Deo,you are actually the heroe here.Whatever happenes I stand by this team I stand by Rohr.Will never stop loving you guys.
@deo… tell me the clear cut attacking midfielder that Rohr invited for this game?
He has been bundling rigid defensive midfielders all over the place in Super Eagles and was getting away with it until today.
We need our usual free flowing smooth midfield game… Rohr has just been lucky to squeeze results all this while… it is already catching up with him…
Ejaria has switched nationality… get him to play us no 10 while we decide on a more lasting solution…
Rohr should adapt his usual 4-2-3-1… it is often too difficult to score goals with that pattern… let us adopt 4-3-3 that most elite team play… to win matches you have to prop-up yourself to score goals…
Recently against Cameroon in the friendlies… we could not score for over 180minutes…
Chase the fraud away already! Let him save face and just leave for retirement… he is too old to function properly anywhere now as a coach! Facts…
Football is a business of obtaining wins and avoiding defeats. If you can’t win for any reason, the tactics should at least ensure that you do not lose.
Today, Rohr made changes, brought in like-for-like players. But the real change that was needed, formation change, was not done.
The CAR team came ready for our usual 4-2-3-1, which becomes 4-4-2 when Iheanacho pushes up to join Osimhen. Bringing in Awoniyi for Iheanacho was a change of personnel, but the system remained the same, with a slight tweak, as Awoniyi plays higher up than Iheanacho, and does not offer the same type of creativity in the AM role that Iheanacho brings. However, his pace and physicality should have added to the threat of Osimhen up front. The CAR defense did not get that memo.
A switch to 3-5-2 would have changed the game in Nigeria’s favour. Bringing in an Akpoguma to join the Oyibo wall would have strengthened the center back area. Bring in Calvin Bassey to utilize his strength, pace and crossing ability on the left. Aina as the other right wing-back. Play Onyeka in the holding role, and give Ejuke and Aribo the freedom to push forward and create ahead of Onyeka. With Osimhen and any of the other strikers up front.
Ejuke’s creativity was easy to see. He was just on the wrong part of the pitch! We needed him in the middle, because the CAR defense was set up to clip our wings, with the double and triple marking. The few times he drifted into the middle, he opened up their defence. Once, he slipped in Osimhen with a slide-rule pass that Osimhen chipped over the CAR goalie, but was unfortunate, as the ball hit the upright.
Aribo too playing higher up would have been much more impactful. Switching to a line up like this today would have changed the game:
3-5-2 formation
Uzoho
Akpoguma, Ekong, Balogun
Aina, Aribo, Onyeka, Ejuke, Bassey
Awoniyi, Osimhen
Hopefully, this defeat will serve as a big wake up call for Rohr and Nigeria. Our destiny is still very much in our hands, and this embarrassment can actually be a blessing in disuise, by forcing our boys to dig dip and bring out their inner beast, making them run riot in our last 3 games. In fact, that is what the fans demand now. The SE need to take the fight to CAR in Douala on Sunday, and bang in a good number of goals. Then they need to do the same thing against Liberia and Cape Verde in November. Even if we have a dead rubber game, it should be approached like a cup final. We need convincing wins to keep our ranking up, considering the looming spectre of the final world cup qualifying rounds, where we will be coming face to face with more accomplished opponents.
What has happened has happened. No need crying over spilt milk. What is now required is a POWERFUL RESPONSE TO THIS CHALLENGE.
The struggle continues on Sunday.
@pompie I prostrate hail your analysis mehn. Abeg who are the assistants to coach rohr abeg. No input at all
My brother, e go better!
@pompie: may God Almighty bless you with this your analysis! You spoke out my mind. when Iheanacho left the occasion unplanned it was glaring that Ejuke should have automatically become our 10. And Bassey too for Collins with his skills and nice crossing abilities… May we succeed comes on Sunday.
Abdul Handsy, we must have been typing at the same time. I later saw that we have the same opinion on what transpired today 🙂
@Adul handsy… is it today you are knowing Rohr? A coach who will invite playersto test and see for inconsequential friendlies and give them 2mins…3mins to prove themselves and would rather give more time to already known and seen regulars? Hahahaha… I know Bassey wont be fielded… I have said Collins is not a Super Eagles quality… very weak like someone who is observing Ramadan fast!
Yet to hear from @omo9ja… Rohr’s adent critics.
Is he still in this planet earth?
Oga come and give your own take on this matter
Playing Ejuke as 10 will make no difference except he learns how to release the ball on time and stop holding too long onto the ball. A fit Iwobi will always be ahead of him in the #10 role.
Simon plays from the left wing for his team and I believe he is more comfortable attacking from the left. He is more productive playing from the left.
352 formation will work.
This team will win against any defensive team.
Okoye
Awaziem. Akpo. Balo
Shehu Onnye Aina
Aribo Simon/Ejuke
Awo. Osi
There is no how we can win all our matches it’s just a bad day in the office. The players gave their all and lost only to a momentary loss of concentration.
Rohr’s qualifiers always have this kain of matches. Rem we lost to SA in his 1st qualifiers for AFCON 2019, and then the Sierra Leone debacle in the last AFCON qualifiers. This will give him a wake-up call that more works need to be done.
I no the SE will redeem themselves in the 2nd leg and who says Liberia cannot cancel out Cape Verde.
We’ll definitely qualify for the last stage but we might get a very tough team if we don’t start to win so as to get good rankings when the time comes. Benin is springing surprises in their group and Mali too, if we get our acts together we should be hoping to get these kain of teams.
9ja fans expect wins all the time but it may not be possible. We have seen Young boys defeating Man U, Sheriff defeating Madrid, etc. All these kain of occasional shocks brings us to the understanding that there is no certainty in football.
Omo9ja, let join hands together to ensure this coach is out our shore. This old stupid coach must go or Nigeria will fail. Some
one needs to knock his teeth out before he goes home though. Even Bendal insurance of Benin could have defeated this Beast from Congo. The day anyone believes that this super Chicken will qualify for the World-Cup, that is the day Nigeria fail. There must be a better qualify Coach out there that can lead Nigeria to World Cup than this old toothless white indult. Taribo West should throw out his Pastoral Gab to lead the coaching crew and rescue Nigeria from this NNF grip .