Super Eagles coach, Gernot Rohr has disclosed that he would give Almeria forward, Sadiq Umar the chance to prove his worth in the senior national team.
Rohr in an interview with Elegbete TV Sports, stated that he’s impressed with the quality of strikers at his disposal but would be more delighted to see Sadiq’s quality.
Recall that Sadiq was invited for the just concluded 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Benin and Lesotho, but due to the Covid-19 travel restriction by some European countries, the Nigerian international was not allowed to honour the invitation.
However, the German tactician, who also rates Crotone star, Simy Nwankwo high, said that both players will be given equal chances in the Super Eagles.
“Sadiq deserves also a chance – one of the best center forwards in Spain actually.
“Simy I know him very well, and so I didn’t have to invite him again to know how he is.
“The last matches were the last opportunity also for me to see some new players because now we go to the World Cup and now will be too late to make experimentation.
“I know already Simy very well; he is a very good player.”
By Augustine Akhilomen
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COMMENTS
Simi, sadiq, unuacho, osihmen, four tall 9,what a difficult situation, if i have to pick two for Rohr i will give him sadiq and osihmen, i believe they both have added qualities like spead and skills, they have also been tested and both delivered, sadiq was too quick to blend into the olympic team and he gave us wonderful performance i believe he will seal a place for the afcon, osihmen is already sure banker, simy also deserve a spot if rohr consider three option, he is experienced and also plays in a high level league with lots of goals, that will be too difficult to ignore but my concern is that simy may found it difficult to integrate into the rohr xfactor team (according to some forum members) a team that is powered by spead and quick interchanges of the ball, rapid movements and quick attacks, this have also be the case of unuachu and nwakweme, and even maja, some of us think they didnt have alot of chances but professionaly speaking chances are actualy given to u in the training sessions, if you happen not to obviously cope with the pace and rapidity of the previouse first 11 or reserve players, no matter where you play how many goals you have scored before, no professional coach will put u ahead, i think the real combat for shirt and respect is in training sessions, the super eagles have pacy wingers and more are still coming, even their midfield powered by ndidi iwobi etebo aribo are all quick footed midfielders, even ighalo found it difficult to cope at some point, they can only be complemented by a fast and very teknical striker with great ball control and foot work, wich makes me put sadiq and osihmen ahead (its my personal opinion)
Options for second strikers are two wicked left footed ballers iheanacho and moffi, rohr may settle for two of them, and two of the giants making it four strikers in total. I believe we will counquer cameroun.
@Collin id… What you have put up is a sentimentally obtuse biased comment about Simmy Nwankwo, I flatly disagree with you. No coach should put Sadiq ahead of Simmy, as it is now, I do not even believe with all practicality of performance and game-maturity if I would want to rate Osimhen or Onuachu higher than him. To assume he has no speed is false, he is fast and strong just like any other of them. This man has proven more consistency in the last two seasons than any other Nigerian striker… We must banish sentiments and give players their deserving place… It will be insane to push Sadiq above him now, moreso for player in a tier-2 league… Simmy has so far outperform Osimhen in the same league this season… if Osimhen were to be considered as having underperformed at the end of this league season, no one is going to cut him slacks(especially not the Italian tabloids) for injuries or Corona that he had at some point. Infact… if not for his returns the Italian media were already unto him with a choke-hold… attacking him for his massive transfer fees and prior lack of goals… So to be fair, Simmy is not less in function and deliverables than any striker we have now.
Jimmyball. You’re partially right and wrong. You can’t out simmy above oshimen. Did you think about what they have given to the national team. Only a bad analyst will put simmy above oshimen.
In italy, oshimen had problems. He is new on the scene. Simmy has been there for years. If you are the coach, you will bench oshimen for simmy…that ll be unbelievable.
Simmy and sadiq are on the same level now. But the ball work or skills of Sadiq is even better than simmy.
Finally have you considered the number of penalty simmy scored. Can you check the stats.
Seems to me that Rohr’s job is becoming a nightmare. Sure this guy needs high-level meditative yoga and Panadol!
If simmy and oshimen are to play together in napoli. Question 1.. who will be no 9 .2 who will be reserve for the other. Who will get the highest price tag. 4.who is likely to score more.. send ur answers to 07038935847 price to be won 50000.
I dont think there is any headache here for Rohr or anyone else unless the person lacks the acumen to spot the diving line because conflicting natural phenomenom. If we must follow in the footsteps of highly rated football playing nations like Brazil , Germany et al then we must consider the league anyone is playing before being considered for invitation to the nation team. To this end our strikers at the moment in order of standard of lesgue and performance are {1} Simy Nwankwo {2} kelechi ihenacho, {3}Terim morfi {4}Victor Osimhen and {5} paul Onuachu. I have intentionally omitted Sadiq umar because if we must maintain and sustain the present standard then a player who has never played in the S.E and is playing in a lower division shouldn’t be invited in the first place. That should be the standard. How many division 2 players are playing for Brazil , Germany etc? None right. If we must catch up with this nations then we must follow in their footsteps
Far far fowl. Not foul o o. Someone that has played for roma rangers partizan nac breda. Olympic medallist and best scorer. …I won’t talk
Did u watch sevilla/almeria
… @Christian Ministries Nigeria… please follow me exactly. I have not said I am all of sudden putting Simmy above Osimhen and Onuachu, I rather said I would not rate either of Osimhen or Onuachu above him. Let’s say they are all exactly playing at the same level, so who is given the nod to start is just at the fancy of the coach. Simmy for all intents and purposes plays in a very weak team where most clinical finishers even the likes of Aguero will put in real sweat to push good numbers… he has done that with style and efficiency. I believe with Onuachu in a stronger league, say Serie A/Ligue1… we can properly assess level of his opposition… we will be able to truly tell between Osimhen, Paul and Simmy who is a more lethal and clinical finisher. I believe neither of them dwarf Simmy at all in this regard… the direct comparison of these trio is why I have always clamored that as far as Super Eagles is concerned we should adopt a six(6)-man midfield listing and fix Iheanacho in a midfield place… So we still have five more slots to name traditional defensive midfielders and low-scoring other attacking midfielders that we have at present… We know Iheanacho is good on his day with goals and have some very good other attributes of an attacking midfielder like shooting and split-passes, for the SE, if Iheanacho can refine his ball usage, retention, tackling and holding skills… he will then make an attacking midfielder of envy… he has the capacity to hone all that as advised by his manager Brendan Rogers and I believe in another season, he could even be vying for African Player of the year (AFPOTY)… If Rohr will occasionally list Semi Ajayi as midfielder despite being more a central defender where he plays at club… then why continue giving Iheanacho a centre forward slot and not midfield to allow us to name a confirmed and more traditional third centre forward… If truth be told, Simmy has not been given enough chances as Osimhen or Onuachu… at 2018 World Cup the man did not even get a combined 6 minutes in all games he featured and it is like Rohr just discarded him even before he was allowed to properly integrate and feel his involvement which is flatly unfair… despite being treated like an outcast, he has continued to perform in silence such that it is clear now that he has to be accommodated in the Super Eagles team by all means… the guy has the best sense of positioning and reaction in the box amongst all our current centre forwards… Terem Moffi is excellent and right up there but he needs another season to put any notion of having a fluke season now to bed… if Terem does what he has done next year, then he has gifted himself every sense and entitlements to equal bragging rights as the rest. If Rohr wants to involve him in the fast-coming WCQs then it’s all still welcomed… but Simmy Nwankwo must be accommodated in the team now… by all means!
It’s very heart warming that right now with the rave reviews for Simmy Nwankwo… He is going to end up in possibly a top-7 team in Serie A next season or even a move to the Bundesliga… the man is an unpretentious goals poacher. He is very skillful with a flashingly witty quick turning, it will be insane for Coach Rohr to push Moffi or Sadiq now ahead of him. We must rid ourselves of sentiments and cut unnecessary too many wing players we invite, we can only have the most in-form and fit 4-wing players at any time, 3CentreForwards, 6Midfielders, and 8defenders and 3goalies for callups during qualifiers… but for tournaments proper, 8defenders will have to be cut down to 7defenders… and if we must have 4 players who can slot in as central defenders in the team, then someone like Chidozie Awaziem has to be named as one of the RightFullBacks in the slot for 7defenders… We can no longer afford to grace any serious championship or tournament proper with less than any three of the five (OSIMHEN, ONUACHU, SIMMY, SADIQ & MOFFI) power strikers that we have at the moment. It has to be sounded that Awaziem is neither inferior to Aina nor Ebuehi at Right Full Back duties… infact of the three, he has the better built and stoicness suitable to the African games and bullish fast Wingers. When you come up against someone like Mbappe, El-Hadji Diouf and Overmars of old, playing from the left flank against you… You will need a tough player like an Awaziem, there are times when your only option will be to foul intelligently to break a wing play and dangerous counter-attack… I have watched all Ola Aina’s games for Fulham this season and why he is a very good ball-playing full back, he lacks a bit of grit in duels and often have troubles against fast and technical Wingers… when he is beaten, often his recovery is almost catastrophic…
@Jimmy, for a balance and an unbiased analysis can you provide the score card on Awaziem performance this season. I hope you have been following his matches too..
The most valuable options for SE right back position are Aina and Ebuehi. These two are the only top playing traditional and modern right backs available for SE. Ehibuze can be added to the list if he is available.
I still believe Awaziem can be deployed as a DM but Ndidi, Etebo and Shehu are ahead of him.
Each of these players is blessed with specific capabilities however hen you remove sentiments and look at things in a wholistic manner. A striker that offers a combination of overall team contribution and goals will always be ahead. Considering overall contribution in matches for SE and clubs:
Top 9
1. Osimhen 2. Sadiq 3. Onwuachu 4. Simy 5. Awoniyi
False 9 or supporting striker
1. Kel 2 Moffi 3. Olayinka 4. Marcus
@Lanre… Your suggestions are well in good graces… but removing sentiments, though I love Awoniyi, his season ended abruptly no thanks to injury, but matter-of-factly, his name is no longer in the bucket for consideration… he needs to come back and show the levels before he went out to injury again. I don’t see that happening before next season now, since leagues already winding-up. We know what Sadiq can do… but with the pace with which Simmy has run-up in the last two months and numbers he has racked up in almighty Serie A, for purposes of numbers, strength of league and objectivity… it is now Simmy in front of Sadiq, not for being undebatedly better, but for truth and practicality of the moment. Some football nations would not call up Sadiq until he moves up to the elite division wherever he plays… Sadiq is similar to Osimhen… allround play and Simmy is Similar to Onuachu… the last two have higher poacher instincts, but objectivity favours… Osimhen, Onuachu and Simmy now. Rohr is yet to give Simmy a truly fair and deserving chance.
@Larry… I have not watched Awaziem much this season but have read he did piled up so many cautions earlier and he is captain of Boavista. But he is tested in Eagles already and did a good job last Afcon 2019… He is a utility player who could do a decent job at Centre Back and RFB. Often Coach Rohr likes to have as much as 9defenders called up but giving what we need in other departments, I do not think we can afford more than necessary slots in defence anymore. Optimum is 8defenders at any time (4CBs and 4FBs) but considering the dilemma with Simmy, Onuachu, Osimhen, Moffi, Iheanacho and Sadiq… the team composition has to be tweaked with sacrifice in defence for Attack and Midfield. Between Aina, Ebuehi and Awaziem… We may have to make a difficult decision which two to takeat RFB position. Considering Roger’s trust for Balogun/Ekong and Akpoguma whom is someone I feel he will want to give a subtly fairer advantage… I believe, Semi Ajayi, Awaziem and Umeruo will hardly be Rohr’s default mentions in centre backs now in anytime soon!
@Jimmyball.
Why I do agree with your perspective of Simy being a prolific poacher; I have to disagree with many other points your raised.
IN all ramifications; Osimhen is our top 9.
He brings everything to the table. There is a reason Napoli went for him in Lille rather than look at their backyard and go for Simy.
Simply put; Osimhen is better than Simy.
The reason most are rooting for Sadiq over Simy is not just based on current form more so on precedence. Sadiq was prolific for us at the Olympics. So most know what he can do. And they trust in his work. Not so much for Simy. Remember,Simy was taken to the world cup by this same Rohr. So the coach does know his quality.
Besides, we watch Simy week in and week out; yes he scores but he brings nothing new to the table. We aren’t lacking in the forward line. Osimhen, Onuachu, Iheanacho all scores. So how many striker can you take.
It must be stated, to dispose the aforementioned off their position in the Super Eagles; Simy must bring something new and must be much more special in contrast to the rest. Which is not the case. He is more like Onuachu and Paul has age on his side.
Sadiq is much more skillful and his all round play,I dare say, far better than Simy.
We all know Iheanacho can play behind the main target man ,as well as in the midfield.
Personally, if I am to root for anyone new to come in(apart for Umar); it would be Moffi. He brings something different.pacey, aggressive and more so,a left footer.
Further more, the reason Ajayi is listed sometimes as a midfielder, is because he does play there as well and unkike the forward line, the super Eagles aren’t blessed with so many good DMF right now; atleast not many the coach can trust. To list Iheanacho as a midfielder is simply wrong for the fact that he has been prolific as a striker all through this season. He hasn’t played in midfield for like forever.
To state Awazeim is a better right back than Ebuehi and Aina is arguable; Awazeim is a Centre back converted to play Right back by Rohr in a time of desperation. He performed well yes but not to the extent to make it his,especially when we have better .
I can only respect and appreciate Simy.i hope he keeps churning out the goals and keep making himself and us proud. If he is called up. I would be happy. If not. No qualms. We are blessed to have so many qualities that will get the job done..
In my view, the single most important advantage Osimhen has above all other strikers available to the Super Eagles is his completeness as a striker. Recall the game against Benin, when Onuachu was introduced, Osimhen was moved to the wings where he almost provided as assist for Onuachu had the Genk man directed his movement towards rather than away from the cross.
In any event, the corner kick from that same episode eventually led to the header crashed in by Onuachu.
My point is that with Osimhen, you don’t need to necessarily adjust your formation to accommodate him, conversely he can be moved anywhere in the final third to accommodate any formation or indeed (as we saw in the match against Benin) to accommodate another centre forward.
As deadly as Simy is, I don’t think he offers that same level of fluidity, flexibility and fluency in interpreting multiple positions effectively in the final third.
Osimhen’s skillset is such that he can fit into diverse formations with ease. Even Sadiq Umar and Simy Nwankwo seem more suited to centre forward roles.
Osimhen is quite simply on another level. Even if he scores half the goals scored by Simy in any season in Italy, that stats would still not deflect from the fact that Osimhen offers Nigeria more up front than Simy.
For one, Osimhen is in a team of heavyweight attackers who themselves know the way to goal. So, if Napoli ends up with say 40 goals all season, Osimhen will have to share these with many more colleagues than Simy will be expected to share in his club.
It is not enough to conclude that Simy is better than Osimhen simply on the amount of goals scored. That will be like saying Odion Ighalo is better than Sadio Mane simply because the Nigerian emerged as the highest goals scorer in the last Afcon.
I am going to repeat a point I made earlier which is: Victor Osimhen is (arguably) the most versatile centre forward option open to the Super Eagles at this time in which minimal or no adjustments need to be made to fit him into any formation.
For a player like Iheanacho, you will not get the best out of him as a sole striker (Osimhen has no such issues). You can’t ask Sadiq Umar, Paul Onuachu or Josh Maja to move to the wings to accommodate another centre forward (you have no such issues with Osimhen).
Having said all that, I am just too happy that we have a wider pool of credibly deadly centre forwards to pick from at this point in time going into crucial world cup qualifiers.
Any of them – Onuachu, Umar, Olayinka, Moffi, Awoniyi or Maja – can get the job done by fire and fury of goals against our oppositions in the absence of Musa, Iheanacho and Osimhen.
This for me seems like dreamland. I still can’t believe it. So, for example, if Osimhen, Musa and Iheanacho aren’t available for international assignments, it would not be a thing of worry!
Wow! This is something else.
So, I try to keep out of these debates because we now have plentiful centre forwards who (on paper at least) can get the job done in the absence of regulars.
And these are the ones we currently know – others are sure to emerge (like Moffi did) in weeks to come.
Wow!
Jimmy the baller, i hail your opinion, but i personaly prefer sadiq and osihmen e get Y and the Y comes before the Z, national team is not club football and even in club football chelsea is not man united and liverpool is not madrid, some strikers did well in some of these clubs and failed in others. I am not saying sadiq and osihmen are better than simy and the rest i believe they fit the super eagles better, considering our type of play, and also they are national team materials just like musa, iwobi, victor moses, aghahuwa, moses simon, samuel kalu, osaze odemwingie, obina nsofor, martins, uche kalu and ike, utaka, kalu, onazi, balogun. haruna zidan(cotedevoir) ayew brothers, sule muntari, asamoah gyan(ghanians) omotoyosi (benin republic) zuma, tau, ramsey(south africa) etc these are some example lists of national team materials, they where and are not club masters but they where very effective for their national team, the likes of essien, yaya toure, yakubu aiyegbeni, stephen pineer(south africa) etc are examples of club masters with low national team output. Its not difficult to identify national materials from their confidents and endless fight you can tell. Simy nwankwo is good, no doubt but for me sadiq is a genius both in assist and scoring, team play and balling, i also prefer sadiq to iheanacho if you must know, if i where to choose betwin both of them.
Sadiq is from north and i am south south so there is no sentiment here and i cant be confused by just goals wether premier league or seria a, there is more to my Y than goal numbers, years back we had strikers like martins utaka aiyegbeni painting premier league with goals non of them was as effective as aghahuwa and emenike the only eagles 9 i respect after yekini, emenike played his best football in russia, aghahuwa did in ukraine and musa did in russia too now three of this strikers failed in premier league and where bombs for Nigeria. Should we disrespect them bcos of premier league or should we respect them for national glories wich one is more important to you? @ jimmyball.
My take is this, lets the training sessions decide when the men are finally gathered by the gaffer.
@Collins id… I am sorry to say that what you have written does make only very little sense. You are being sentimental and not objective… how many minutes combined is the duration in all the world cup games Simmy was played? How can you come to conclude he is a club player that can’t function in national teams? That’s how you massacred Paul Onuachu as been useless till he silenced his detractors recently… Give props to whom it is due. Belgian league is easy and I ask people who were trolling and insulting Onucahu when last did any human being score 33 in all competitions in the Belgian league?… just like how they believe little of Simmy Nwankwo now… You must learn to assess players with objectivity, no two players play in same way. Osimhen and I pray, Simmy will square up in Serie A again next season… then even, Simmy will be in a decent team… I have not forgotten how loads of forumites were making excuses not too long for Victor when he could not conjure up goals… Inzaghi unlike Simmy was never skillful but apart from always being first on Juventus, AC Milan team lists when he played there… he was first choice striker for Italy despite having to compete against stalwarts in Italy attack. When we continue to see football more for entertain and artful performance we will never win anything…. I love Osimhen and believe he has the edge to be our first striker now but, he does not edge any of his competitors so much as for duty… his greatest asset is being very young like Moffi, but I do not think he is more experienced than Simmy… who has played senior league football for close to 9years now from Portugal league which is very technical too.
@Mr Hush… Good contribution but like mine, it’s your own perspective. I do not believe Iheanacho is unfamiliar to the attacking midfield role, infact I feel he will be suited to it than Iwobi if he is given good instruction on the details he needs to touch on. How is it that you can say Simmy does not offer much on allround play other than purely goals contribution… as far as I know, a striker should be selfish to scoring first before any other secondary duties to add… common, Iheanacho is just beginning to score again and lot of folks who once agreed his best position is not as a direct striker but could well be attacking midfield or playing from the right in a three-man forwardline like UAE 2013 U-17 have resumed to seeing him like a centre forward again… yes, he plays perfectly fine behind an arrowhead but it could be tempered for him to play attacking midfield too depending on available personnel and how we wish to setup. I do not see an Iheanacho so much different from a James Rodriguez sort of player… they play very similar with almost same degree of pace, swiftness, patience and intelligence. If a James Rodriguez can do a good job as a number 10, I do not see why Iheanacho can’t. I do not believe he cannot… but if we adopt more of 4-4-2 or 3-5-2 then perfect for him playing behind the arrowhead. To be honest we will need to see Aina, and Ebuehi against the team’s with the strength of Senegal, Cameron, Mali, Burkina Faso, Algeria, Egypt and solid South American and Eastern European (Croatia, Serbia, and Czech specifically) to know how they can hold their own against real physical sides.. We have seen Awaziem against Argentina, and the likes of Cameron. I give to Aina and Ebuehi but considering what the African physical games sometimes demand, I will be more comfortable with 1.Awaziem. 2.Aina and 3.Ebuehi at RFB in that order. Let’s jettison the idea of Semi Ajayi anywhere around DM, Rohr has tried him there as a makeshift and he was static… nothing enterprising. I maintain that we need to see Sadiq do his business in one of the very elite divisions to allow him shunt Simmy Nwankwo… that should be the most fair and objective verdict now. With all due respect… I trust Sadiq can deliver but he has to first fix the little snag of not playing elite division football for the now… for any comparison to be fairly put side by side with Simmy. You all are judging him as having done well in Olympics some five years ago… I know too, but he could be forgiven but it was an immature play from him refusing to square the ball for a free and open Mikel Obi facing an almost empty goal with Germany goal keeping already dragged out wide right that cost us initial setbacks in the semi final against Germany. We should have taken a comfortable lead before Germany did and got started positive ahead of us… Sadiq is no doubt a player deserving his Super Eagles chance also but he is not front of Simmy Nwankwo duty for duty now. You talked about Rohr giving Simmy Nwankwo chances at 2018 World Cup… Please permit me to ask you… how many minutes did Simmy played at that world cup combined? Was it up to 5minutes? Should we call up Sadiq in a difficult game with our lives on the line and give him 2,3… minutes do you think he will touch the ball up to twice before the game’s final whistle sounds? Be objective brother…
Meanwhile Terem Moffi just scored a hattrick for Lorient vs Bordeaux… Oh boy! The guy Moffi is is a beast…
@Jimmyball.
There is no argument here.
We all have our perspectives but the truth remains, no matter how noble we seem them, it wouldn’t change facts.
Those are substantiated by results and time.
For clarification purposes, hence my response;
Firstly, I never stated Iheanacho can’t play in the midfield. I only stated he hasn’t played there for a very long time since his conversion to the striking position in his days at Man city. He has suited superbly well into the forward line so why sacrifice that! You don’t fix what’s not broken.
To state he is better than Iwobi in the midfield is something that can’t be substantiated; since Iwobi has done fantastically well for us in the midfield and Iheanacho has mostly played as a forward for us. The last time he really played as a midfielder is at the U17s! That’s like another era!. For me,Iwobi any day in the midfield over Iheanacho. Iheanacho as a 8 great . A SS .much more better.. but in the middle running all over .Iwobi .
Further, the fact you stated this about Simy,” a striker should be selfish first before any secondary duties..”; just prove what I am pointing out .
Simy is a good striker. He scores goals. But he is limited compared to Osimhen.
Osimhen all round play is far more higher than Simy.
Osimhen is selfish enough to score and selfless enough to assist the team. Hence why he is better than Simy.
And for the coach Rohr to give Simy just some 5mins at the last world cup , it simply means he doesn’t trust him enough. It is his prerogative.
And putting Sadiq in that similar context has no baring, cause we never know. But like I stated in my earlier piece; from what we have seen of Sadiq in the past wearing the green white green, he should come good.
Not taking anything away from Simy.
I like him. He is good. If he is invited. He deserves it.
And yeah…not to sound cocky or cringey, again as stated in my earlier piece;
“Personally, if I am to root for anyone new to come in(apart for Umar); it would be Moffi. He brings something different.pacey, aggressive and more so,a left footer….”
And he just proved that point.hattrick.
@Mr.Hush… Osimhen almost had his Napoli career killed before it even got started. Have you forgotten Gattusso asking Osimhen to be more selfish in front of goal to increase his haul rather than laying passes at the slightest impulse for all other competing strikers in Napoli who were not even helping return his favour? Team play and sacrifice to assist fellow strikers are good but a lethal striker has to eat on his hunt first before passing chunks to other strikers…
… My evident truth is that Simmy Nwankwo will yet plunder atleast 20 goals at least in Serie A, yet this season and it’s only in Nigeria a player like that can be ignored in the national team for some patheticly weak excuses while considering some purely based on merit who have not really done as much or make excuses for their inclusion even though no sanity supports it. That should be a concern for fair students, fans and stakeholders of the game
… My evident truth is that Simmy Nwankwo will yet plunder atleast 20 goals in Serie A, yet this season and it’s only in Nigeria a player like that can be ignored in the national team for some patheticly weak excuses while considering some purely based on merit who have not really done as much or make excuses for their inclusion even though no sanity supports it. That should be a concern for fair students, fans and stakeholders of the game
France is ignoring Benzema, England ignores Vardy even when was winning golden boot in England, it’s about a striker gel with the team .
Mr Jimmyball,France is ignoring Benzema, England ignored Vardy even when he was winning golden boot in England, it’s about a striker gelling with the team .
… England has never rated Vardy above Harry Kane. Benzema is an Arab Algerian, he has his numerous problems with the French FA, his mates are no longer even in the French team… If I may ask you… is Nigeria called France or England? Some of you just use sentiments to trash good players as not good enough… How many matches have Simmy played for Eagles under Rohr, and how many combined minutes was he fielded in those games… that guy gate crashed Nigeria’s world cup team with a single match he was allowed to play against just one African opposition striking the bar in that game and played a very solid match.
Onuachu’s return this season reflect his profile as a target man and penalty box frontman: every strike has been from within the 18-yard area with 8 penalties and 10 headed goals emphasising his aerial strength. He has won 55 percent of his aerial duels this season. He has also provided 5 assists so far this season. 33 goals and 5 assists in all competitions in a top 10 European league is quite remarkable.
Kelechi Iheanacho’s return this season is not new to anyone he has done so before at a bigger club ManCity. Obviously he struggled for playing time most of the beginning of his career but he has shown so far this season that he’s a top player when given the license to roam. 16 goals and 6 assists in all competitions so far this season is a testament to his undeniable talents. Though I will place him mostly as a midfielder to accommodate 3 out and out striker in a 23 man squad.
Simy’s return this season also reflect his profile as a target man and penalty box frontman: every strike has also been from the 18-yard area with 8 penalties and only one headed goal. He has only won 39 percent of his aerial duels this season. 19 goals in serie A and only 1 assist in all competitions. All goals scored with his right foot. In his first season in Serie A (16/17) he only scored 3 goals and in his second season in Serie A (17/18) he only scored 7 goals and was rewarded with a spot in SuperEagles WorldCup squad to Russia despite playing more games and minutes than Osimhen has done so far this season.
Sadiq’s return this season reflects his profile as a gangly striker, more of a Kanuesque with skills and improvisation. Lovely touches and an eye for a killer pass at any given time. Only one headed goal and a 37 percent aerial duels success rate. Which puts him closer to Simy in terms of output. However, the Almeria forward has scored 7 goals with his left foot, 2 from outside the box and the rest with his right foot. He has also provided 3 assists this season. Emphasizing is all round team play, not forgetting that he also scored about 6 goals for Partizan before joining Almeria at the beginning of the season. So far this season 24 goals 3 assists in all competitions.
Moffi’s return this season reflects his profile as an all round forward capable of playing as an inverted winger from the right can also be beneficial to the SuperEagles in the long run. He just scored an hat trick against Bordeaux today. 15 goals and 2 assists so far in all competitions in his maiden season in France shows he could be a real asset to the SuperEagles in the immediate future considering he’s only 21. Ironically, he was part of the Golden Eaglet team under Amunike in 2015 and Osimhen was chosen ahead of him. He must’ve been injured not to make the final squad to Chile ahead of Agor, Ebere and Okonkwo. He’s definitely got a huge role to play for the SuperEagles in due course.
Victor Osimhen is the chosen one. In his first season in Serie A despite injuries and Covid he has scored 6 goals and surely should get more by season end. An all rounder in the form of the great Rashidi. Shaa ti naaa siiii. A constant nuisance to opposing defenders. From all indications he will be starting alongside Iheanacho or play as lone striker for the SuperEagles in the AFCON baring any injury or loss of form.
All of them deserve to be given equal chances especially in the rigorous WorldCup qualifiers coming up. But if I have to choose 3 it will be Osimhen, Onuachu and Sadiq, while I will list Kelechi in Midfield. Moffi and Simy on standby for now in case of emergency. We have about 8 matches to negotiate between now and November therefore, the best and most in form players should be given the opportunities to show what they can offer. They don’t necessarily have to play as top striker in every match some of them can play in midfield and on the wings (Moffi, Iheanacho)and as second striker (Iheanacho, Sadiq). It is indeed another golden age for Nigeria strikers. #FLY LIKE AN EAGLE INTO THE FUTURE#.
@Ayphillydegreat, omato ijomęta kę. How are you doing my friend?
Emina fędaseto ni sir o. However, you have said it all my friend.
I just wanted to share my thoughts with you where you said
“But if I have to choose 3 it will be Osimhen, Onuachu and Sadiq”.
These three strikers should be the main strikers indeed but in my opinion sir, it will be a huge advantage to Oga Rohr and the entire squad to have different strikers in the team.
If the French/German man decided to have three of these strikers in his team, is like he is having three Osimhen upfront.
My fear now is Dessers. That guy should not be omitted from the world cup list.
Oga Rohr should please think about is talent because he is a special player and his style is totally different to other strikers we have in the team presently sir.
Sir, this sounds funny indeed but If Oga Rohr can give him just 20 minutes in every game in the world cup qualifiers, the gaffer won’t regret it.
Mr. Ayphillydegreat, Dessers is not playing regularly at the moment and his story similar to Nacho, the senior man.
All he, Dessers needed is a chance. Dessers can play any where in the front and he is still going to be a treat to our oppositions.
Lastly, having 3 similar strikers in the same team should be something we should all looking into sir. That is my own opinion my lovely Ayphillydegreat. Do have a blessed week my dear AY. Ire o. God bless Nigeria!!!
Samson Siasia opined in 2016 that Nigeria has discovered potentially a fantastic player in Sadiq Umar who incidentally was his striker in the Olympic games in Rio.
Today he is scouted by Rohr,and from this article you can deduce Rohr’s intent on Sadiq.I think the gaffer likes Sadiq,it’s obvious he has seen great potentials in the bin pole attacker and only Sadiq could play himself in or out of the team.But come may when the list for the Liberian game will be released,one name that would sure be on the list is Sadiq Umars.
However,in any top football nation in the world a player that features in a lower division will have very little chance of getting on their list.Right now Nigeria has one of the best attackers in world football.
I cannot advice Rohr on what to do or criteria to pick players because I’m not a professional coach.I do think Rohr may have discarded standards for Sadiq probably because of distinct qualities he has a quality Rohr wants in his team but cannot find in some other strikers even though they play in the elite leagues.
Thats the problem I have with some of our fans. A striker will use penalty and score 50-goals, and they will say, “invite him”. But they forget that penalties doesn’t come by easily for SE.We have already played two matches this year and yet, we have not gotten a single penalty………not even half penalty. Hence,we need a striker that can hold up play, that can take on defenders, that have pace, good in passing amongst others. Ike Uche, Osaze are some of our former strikers that had all these qualities.
Osimhen needs to learn how to be inventive whenever he has the ball and want to score. I have rewatched two of our matches over three times each. What I observed was that whenever he was given the ball, he runs and shoots even when he is in a tight and won’t be able to score from there. I expected him break up and be more inventive. Maybe, that may be why Rohr was talking about Ighalo. For instance, the goal Ighalo scored against Cameroon during the 2018 WC qualifiers. If he had used Osimhen’s style, he would never have scored that goal. Instead of running and shooting like Osimhen, he broke up his run and skillfully manouvered the defender that was on his trail before he slotted home.
@Ocherome… If you think it’s a piece of cake scoring penalties then go ask Asamoah Gyang. Penalties during games are as worthy as as any other kind of goal.
@Ayphillydegreat, omato ijomęta kę. How are you doing my friend?
Emina fędaseto ni sir o. However, you have said it all my friend.
I just wanted to share my thoughts with you where you said
“But if I have to choose 3 it will be Osimhen, Onuachu and Sadiq”.
These three strikers should be the main strikers indeed but in my opinion sir, it will be a huge advantage to Oga Rohr and the entire squad to have different strikers in the team.
If the French/German man decided to have three of these strikers in his team, is like he is having three Osimhen upfront.
My fear now is Dessers. That guy should not be omitted from the world cup list.
Oga Rohr should please think about is talent because he is a special player and his style is totally different to other strikers we have in the team presently sir.
Sir, this sounds funny indeed but If Oga Rohr can give him just 20 minutes in every game in the world cup qualifiers, the gaffer won’t regret it.
Mr. Ayphillydegreat, Dessers is not playing regularly at the moment and his story similar to Nacho, the senior man.
All he, Dessers needed is a chance. Dessers can play any where in the front and he is still going to be a treat to our oppositions.
Lastly, having 3 similar strikers in the same team should be something we should all looking into sir. That is my own opinion my lovely Ayphillydegreat. Do have a blessed week my dear AY. Ire o. God bless Nigeria!!!
@Omo9ja leave Dessers story one side… ONUACHU has eaten his launch long ago. We may have to wait till next season when he becomes the main striker for Genk before mentioning him again…