Flying Eagles of Nigeria head coach Ladan Bosso says his team lost stupidly to Gambia in the semi-finals of the 2023 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations on Monday.
Gambia secured a famous 1-0 victory over the Flying Eagles in Cairo to qualify for their maiden final.
Adama Bojang scored after eight minutes to send Abdoulie Bojang’s charges’ through.
Substitute Ahmed Abdullahi had the chance to equalise for the Flying Eagles from the penalty spot but saw his effort hit the post.
“We lost stupidly, we were naive from the start,” a disappointed Bosso was quoted on CAF website.
“We failed to take our chances and we also missed the penalty in the 86th minute.
“I am very frustrated because we had the team to go all the way. Football is cruel.
“We didn’t measure up. I congratulate The Gambia for winning,” he added.
Gambia will take on Senegal in the final billed for Saturday while the Flying Eagles and Tunisia will battle in the third-placed match.
27 Comments
Sackkkkkk this bbabba pplssssss
I am not surprised dey lost . The same problem affecting the super eagles . When ever they meet a technical or tactical sides we have to pray to play good or win ..
The baton shifts to the u 23 eagles.i hope the pasceiro must have identified two or three players to join another sets of two or three players that wil come from the u 23 that will eventually join the only four players in the super eagles ie oshimen,chuckeze , moffi and lookman.to get a solid team to win the next afcon.
There is no real talent in that team my dear friend…….When a coach throws open his screening and eventually sticks with the same set of players he has been working with then you know something is wrong…… Many talented players came to train with this team and everyone saw the difference in class of this gate Crashers but Bosso refused to shift his stance a bit……Bosso gave alot of stupid excuses to defend his actions……He said they where not strong enough,he said they where not good enough,he said they where not ready to integrate…….One would think that the players he is taking to Egypt will be a joy to watch…… Forget about victory if you see a team that has talented players you will know regardless of if they win or not…… Please let them stay far away from Super eagles and try and get into the first team of a top5 league club (which I seriously doubt based on what I saw) before thinking of SE.
AKP Bro you are right sir, this players all they can do is run run know football sense Senegal will win Nigeria If the two teams met sacked the coach now
Bosso’s Shortcomings Came Home To
_ Roost _
Well, I have to agree with Bosso on this one: the manner of his team’s loss to Gambia was cruel, to be honest.
Two freakish events, one in the dawn and the other in the denouement of the match sealed the Flying Eagles’ fate.
An unfortunate ricochet fell kindly to the Gambian striker who feasted on the chance to make it 1:0 for his team with the match just 7 minutes old. With just 4 minutes of the game left, Nigeria won a penalty but blew the chance to pull level as Abdullahi crashed the bar.
1:0 it ended, Bosso has failed once again to win the Under-20 Afcon as his team will now settle for a third place playoff; exactly the same thing that happened when he coached the Flying Eagles to the 2009 U-20 Afcon.
“We failed to take our chances and we also missed the penalty in the 86th minute.
I am very frustrated. Football is cruel.” Said Bosso.
For me too, the manner of the goal Nigeria conceded and the missed penalty were truly frustrating. But, I never saw this team as a tournament winning squad. Their brand of football is not refined and even the Route One football they practice could not bail them out against Gambia last night when the chips were down.
Bosso was sacked by the NFF in 2009 when the team was defeated in the semi finals of the U-20 Afcon. With just over 2 months to the world cup, I will strongly advise against sacking Bosso this time around.
His Flying Eagles team to this tournament played with heart, dedication, determination and patriotism. But they just couldn’t give what they didn’t have : class and quality.
I said it before, Route One football can be effective. Even last night, long balls from deep and cross field high balls created problems that visibly rattled the Gambians in the first half.
One such scenario saw the Gambian goalkeeper caught in no-man’s land close to the center circle with the resultant long range shot from the Nigerian striker sailing just wide, narrowly missing a Gambian defender’s hand inside the 18 yard box.
But, Bosso’s boys lacked the gumption, movement, guile, imagination and killer instinct to take advantage of the opportunities inherent in long balls and Route One strategy.
After the Gambians mounted an effective response for Bosso’s Route One – Long Balls strategy in the second half, Bosso was slow to introduce a Plan B and when he did, his Plan B (to play on the ground, penetrate through midfield with through balls) was half-arsed, ineffective and poorly executed (because the players on the field lacked the requisite football acumen).
Well, Bosso should go and dine with Coach Sam Allardyce or Tony Pulis so they can teach him the rudiments of Route One football.
He needs to fortify his midfield with intelligent players. His defense his good enough but lack a bit of organization which led to the goals from Senegal and Gambia.
His wingers are passable but he needs high caliber center forwards. Bosso’s players are hard working, which is good to see.
But without quality in key areas, all their hard work will also account for absolutely nothing at the World Cup in about 2 months time.
At u20 level we do not need a Kloop or Guadiola to coach FE to become champions………Bosso will be ok only if he throws away his greed and open his mind to look out for super talented players available to him……No way you would tell me that these boys I saw yesterday are the best u20 boys Nigeria can come up with both home and abroad……Haba no naa…… Nigeria has unbelievable talents at the grassroot believe me…..Just comb only Lagos and you will be overwhelmed……Then when you go to other states you will melt…..Let’s not even talk of the talents born abroad to Nigerian parents who are destroying academies of world class clubs abroad…….Once we assembly the best talents then a good disciplinarian like Bosso who is also a father figure can make them champions.
Here is Ladan Bosso’s domestic coaching record;
Kanemi Warriors Jan 1st 2016 – Dec 31 2017: 74 matches played, 34 won, 5 drawn, 35 lost.
Ifeanyi Ubah Jan 1st 2018 – Dec 31st 2018: 24 matches played, 7 won, 7 drawn, 10 lost.
Gombe United Jan 1st 2019 – Jun 30th 2020: 22 matches played, 8 won, 6 drawn, 8 lost.
Adamawa United Sep 11 2020 to date: 38 matches played, 5 won, 11 drawn, 22 lost.
This is who the NFF picked to coach the team and the ministry of sports agreed to it.
According to the coaching record, he (Ladan Bosso) keeps fading away and getting worst each year
You hit the nail on the head.Thank you.
sharaaaap mr Bosso you make everybody angry yesterday because of your poor selection and many bribe you have been taken to put some players who are not suppose to be be there
just immagine in your team no good strikers who are also good finishers
you better go and start shopping for good strikers who are good finishers before the world cup starts in our local league, in Africa and Europe etc
and dont be one sided coach next time ! you really spoiled my day yesterday
now get lost from my sight !
Ladan Bosso has no business coming back to handle our U20 after failing many years back, he does not have anything to offer. The most annoying thing is taking a team that looks like Oshodi selected as our U20 to an African Competition to embarrass us, a country of over 200 million eliminated by a team from Gambia, a country of just over 2million people what a shame.
In tandem with the observations of APK, Dominic et al as stated above i wish to also add that the team had everything but talent. The way they play showed that the coach did a good job in terms blending the the team. Unfortunately u cannot give what u do not have. Guile ,determination and power do not win top matches. You need talent. That’s what the Coach need to go in search of. The Okochas, Kanus, Mikel,Osihmens, Chukwuezes, et al have all help Nigeria win one trophy or the other by pure talent. KANU won the Olympics for Nigeria by pure talent. There are talents on the streets of Nigeria with 200million people. The world don’t always struggle to spot talents on a typical Nigeria team. Pls pls Coach the essence of under age is to spot and develop talent. You cannot tell me Nigeria does not have a talented striker or midfielder with an eye for a pass at under 20 level. Its a shame
Nigerian gets what it deserves with Bo$$o.
How many times must this guy prove that he is an incompetent coach, before Nigeria takes heed? Please name me one U20 player (or even age grade player) that he has ‘discovered’ who went on to benefit the SE? Absolutely none!
All the guy does is look for ‘experienced players’ (meaning overaged players who are willing to pay) and puts them on the field. He lacks the strategic or tactical intelligence to coach a national team, but is always there as the head coach.
Mark my words, he will probably be back in one coaching capacity or another after this go around.
That’s Nigeria for you.
Elderson Echiejile (Afcon winner)
Efe Ambrose (Afcon winner)
Brown Ideye (Afcon winner)
Ikechukwu Ezemwa (Afcon Bronze medallist)
All these former Super Eagles stars above were in Bosso’s Flying Eagles class of 2007.
Nwankwo Obiora (Afcon winner)
Gbolahan Salami (Chan Bronze medallist)
Haruna Lookman (World cup player)
Michael Uchebo (World Cup player)
Rabiu Ibrahim
These Ex-Internationals above were in Bosso’s Afcon Bronze winning U-20 squad.
Deo no dey lie abeg. The first group yes the second group u call was not part of his team ok
Dear Dan,
In, 2009, Ladan Bosso was the Head Coach of the Flying Eagles team to the U-20 Cup of Nations in Rwanda.
Again the following players were part of his Bronze medal winning team to that competition:
Nwankwo Obiora (Afcon winner)
Gbolahan Salami (Chan Bronze medallist)
Haruna Lookman (World cup player)
Michael Uchebo (World Cup player)
Rabiu Ibrahim (Ex-Super Eagles midfielder).
Dele Ajiboye (Ex-Super Eagles goalkeeper)
Bosso was sacked for coming third in that to be replaced by Siasia.
Deo,
Thanks for your response. If you noticed, I intentionally used the word ‘discovered’, because none of the players you listed was discovered by him. Most of them were either playing for clubsides in the Nigerian league at the time he poached them (like Ideye, Salami of 3SC, Obiora) OR they had played for the U17 team before the U20 (like Rabiu Ibrahim, Dele Ajiboye and Haruna Lookman). All these players were exposed and well known in the Nigerian circles or national leagues before being picked by Bo$$o.
Compare that to coaches like Ugbade or Amunike or Manu Garba who actually ‘discovered’ players (Osimhen, Chukwueze, Onazi, Omeruo, etc.) that have actually gone on to benefit the SE.
I stand by my initial comments that the guy is grossly incompetent.
Mumu who will not do his research, but will come here and look stupid, see how quickly your right up was rubbished. If you can’t stand the coach, just give up and don’t watch any of his team. At least you will have not heart break.
Pls Laden Bosso, you are a serial looser. The first match you introduced abdulahi against Senegal, he has no business in that team, and see how he wasted a single Penalty kick, if you take him to the world Cup, then that would be confirmed that you truly take bribe. I am watching you.
Pls tell me any player that has no missed a penalty
Hmm.. for the first time, I prayed for Nigeria to lose and they did.
I did that because I know if that team go ahead and win the tournament, this man called bosso will think he’s doing the right thing.
The likes of Ideho (Arsenal) Kenny Coker (Norwich City) , And Ola-Adebomi (Crystal Palace) will be too weak to play in his team.
I’m so sorry my fellow fans. I’m happy they lose.
Now that he knows he has to work hard, I want to see how good he can be if he’s serious. And enough of all those yeye friendlies that they were scoring 8, 20 goals in a match.
Please lets cut the coach a slack. Yes the team wasn’t perfect, but tried. For me the coach has seen his errors and make the needed correction. The 2 teams that defeated us didn’t play fantastic either. This is a learning process for the team. Just as @deo pointed out, this is not the time to sack the coach. The national team coach was present at the tournament, he could give his own observation and the necessary corrections to be made. Yes there are talents out there on the streets of Nigeria, he can’t be everywhere seeking for talent.
There are times we have failed to qualify for the World Cup with our assumed better coaches with our super talents picked from the streets of Lagos,Abakaliki,Kano ect.We like to moan in this country sadly,because we think we are better than everyone.
That was how we criticised and called for the heads of Troussier and Rohr two fantastic coaches only to be punished with terrible coaches with their successors!Well deserving!
The gaffer has met target of qualifying for the under 20 World Cup deal with it!
Apparently.he has qualified Nigeria for 3 World Cup out of 3.Won’t count the last one because of Covid.On that note,he has done well.His teams are never devoid of talents,we have had super eagles from his teams ones who represented us to win important competitions Bosso is a good and experienced youth coach.
Someone highlighted his performances in the domestic league to question his relevance,the likes of Samson Siasia,Manu Garba,Ben Iroha and a few other successful youth international coaches have struggled coaching in the local league.We have also seen some coaches appointed to manage the youth teams after successes in the Nigerian league only to perform woeful on national assignments.
We should appreciate his efforts.His team has grey areas and I’m sure he’s not turning a blind eyes to it.Before the World Cup we shall have a much more improved team.Apparently,we played our best football against Gambia the team is improving with every game something to cheer about.
Meanwhile,Shehu Abdullahi contrary to opinions is the best striker in the team,he was just unfortunate but if you take a closer look at his performances ,if you can take your minds off the sending off and penalty miss you will see a pivotal striker a point man who ruffled the Gambian disciplined defence,hopefully,he starts against Tunisia for an extensive assessment.
In conclusion Bosso is a very good youth coach who should be encouraged and sent on refresher courses to improve his coaching skills.We need him for future assignments he’s that good.
Good luck to our flying eagles against Tunisia and beyond….
If my memory serves me correctly, was it not Mr.Godwin Uwua that qualified Nigeria for that 2007 U20 World Cup before he was fired?
I believe coaching records should not be discounted in the appointment of coaches. We cannot continue to recycle coaches and expect a miracle. A few coaches who have succeeded at almost every club they have coached deserve an opportunity. One of those coaches is Mr.Ogunbote. I believe he has shown enough to have been given this U20 or U23 job. These appointments should be on merit.
But in Nigeria, they are not. There is no denying that.
Booso is a quak and incompetent coach who stupidly invite majority hausa Muslim who lack tactical discipline and courage to compete at big stage. Check our Nigeria sport history. Most Laurel ever won was achieve by majority southerner. Most especially Edo, Delta, nigerdeltan and igbos particular
The deserves to fail because they was overwhelmed by tribbal sentiment in selecting good players
Clinical and ‘We Lost Stupidly To Gambia’ …..Bosso himself needs to go… We don’t need him. With Bosso at the helm, nothing good will come out of this team. NFF, Let Finidi George handle this team, please. I am saying this because history is about to repeat itself. 13 years after he took the side to the World Cup in 2007 and failed woefully playing his heartbreak football, he was appointed again to handle the Flying Eagles. He could not read matches correctly and when he made substitutions, always making biased and wrong substitutions. Woeful selections of the team were the outcry then and the same anomalies are playing back now. Since over 13 years that he took the Flying Eagles to the Junior World Cup, this guy has learned nothing. He is like Nazareth, nothing good will come out of this set of Flying Eagles unless something drastic is done.
…playing out again…..