Secretary General of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Mohammed Sanusi is hopeful the Super Eagles will hit top form soon.
The three-time African champions laboured to a 1-0 victory against the Djurtus of Guinea-Bissau on Monday.
Jose Peseiro’s side earlier lost 1-0 to same opponent last week Friday at the Moshood Abiola Stadium, Abuja.
“The former board have done their best but we want to improve on what was done in the past,” Sanusi told NFF TV.
“We have seen areas where we think there is need for improvements. I can assure you that very soon , you will see a more improved Super Eagles.”
Sanusi also reflected on the Super Eagles victory against the Djurtus.
“We give glory to God, it was a sweet victory. The players gave their best. The fans doubted after the first game but we know it wasn’t over,”Sanusi added.
“The players came out strongly and were able to deliver. We thank God for the victory.
We thank the Nigerians who came out en-masse to receive us over there. It was singing and drumming when he arrived there and untill we got to the airport.
“On matchday too, they came out in large numbers to support us. The Nigerian ambassador was with us all through. We thank all the Nigerians in Guinea-Bissau for their support.
“We also thank Nigerians at home, who have been praying day in, day out for us
“We now have nine points from four matches and we are leading our group.”
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COMMENTS
SACK this MAN now and #BringBackGenerakRoah or #BringAntonioConte
For me, I gave up on this coach after the Portugal match. Those who know me on this forum would see that I’ve kept quiet because I realized then that the coach had not added anything tactical to the Nigerian team. In fact, the tactics are worse. They called him a Portuguese tactician yet nowhere is his tactical imprint showing after 9 matches. Set piece tactics zero; combination play tactics zero; pressing tactics zero; counter pressing zero; transition play tactics zero; midfield ball progression zero…
The Portugal match told me all I needed to know about the coach. Here was a man facing his own national team, and he played exactly the same attacking line-up and 442 formation. Throughout that match, he made no substitutions that addressed lapses in Nigeria’s play, and concluded that if Nigeria had scored the penalty (won by Osayi-Samuel again) the score would have been more respectable than 4-0.
I now laugh at him that he thinks Nigeria can win AFCON. In my view he has added nothing tactically to how Nigeria play. He continues to call up the same bench-warming players that failed at world cup qualification. Most of whom now play worse than they played then.
Aribo has lost confidence and is not even on his club’s bench, Onuachu is yet to replicate his goal-scoring form for his new club and is destined for the bench, Nacho continues to play sporadically from the bench and lacks match fitness, Chukwueze continues to play for his own glorification, Ndidi is not truly committed and injury has cost him his edge.
Most of these players used to playing on world standard pitches cannot play on the type of pitches in Nigeria. Lookman plays a quick-passing game that requires a top-notch pitch. In Abuja, his passes are rubbish as they hit the uneven bumps of the playing surface.
The interplay tactics between players is lacking. Osimhen wants to do everything himself. I watched Saka, a 21 year-old with Nigerian ancestry play for England, and I thought if this boy had chosen Nigeria; the fools in Nigeria would invite him to play for U23 like Orban. Chukwueze and Ahmed Musa would be chosen ahead of him, and yet Chukwueze cannot even cross a ball and Musa cannot match him for speed.
The best match the coach has had for Nigeria was against Sao Tome, and that was played on a world-class pitch in N. Africa. I wouldn’t be surprised if against Sao Tome in Abuja, Nigeria draws the match or even loses.
You cannot ask world-class players to play football on seconday school pitches.
I would normally be also asking that the coach be sacked but Nigeria’s problem does not just start at the coach. Politics riddles team selection, one of which is Ahmed Musa. His supporters like to praise him for his minute exertions for the team. A player who comes on with 3 minutes of play and is then praised for his energy when his team mates are exerting energy for 90 minutes.
An experienced player like Musa should not be having this type of cameo appearances for the team. If he has value he should be playing for at least 60 minutes, the fact that his contribution has fallen from 15 minutes before Peseiro to 5 minutes, shows he is surplus to requirements.
It is young players that are introduced with 5-15 minutes of play, not an old hand like Musa. Victor Orban or Victor Boniface being introduced for 5-15 minutes is what most sane teams would be doing.
Musa who is typically an unused bench-warming substitute for his Sivasspor club team is blocking by his presence the selection and try-out of forwards who regularly command first-team places for European teams. And his position as a winger is typically occupied by young energetic players. The youngest players in a team are usually wingers, such as England’s Bukayo Saka, famed for speed and/or dribbling. Musa could never dribble and at his age he cannot compete on speed with even his younger compatriots or against younger full-backs.
No coach can perform if he isn’t in total control of selection, and where the team list is drawn by administrators. For supporters like myself, we cannot continue to apply our passion to what we see as an ongoing failed project. We can only hold our frustration down by hoping an utter failure by the SE would lead to fundamental changes. In this way team performances no matter how dreadful actually delight us, as it brings forward the date when changes will occur.
This comment deserves a ton of likes funny how CSN took out the thumbs section in the name of site upgrade and I 110% agree with what @Tristan has written here and to also add that Coach Peseiro lacks the motivational ability to psych up this players before a match hence the nonchalant attitude of these players whenever an opposition passage of play spells danger,the lack of passion and zeal from this team baffles me.So yes this ongoing project is doomed to fail,it’s a shame that the Nff are blind to the shortcomings of the team,it’s even worse when they’re part of the problem.
Oga NFF you guys continue with the failures nd putting ur names in football failed countries… We Nigerians fans we don’t care anymore… If u like put ur together cares… We are even happen this is happening now , a lesser nd minor team around the world beating u guys… It’s a big shame… ND u guys should know that ,any competition when any of una fails to qualify to play.. una don also lost the money too…. So who loose now ???. If una like make una continue the tribalism nd curruption activity there the way una dey hire coaches to coach our team nd the way una dey invite inactive nd bench warmers to come nd play for una
.. u guys should continue….. Who cares