Super Eagles head coach, Finidi George has eulogised Fisayo Dele -Bashiru after his impressive performance against South Africa on Friday night.
Dele-Bashiru opened his goal account for the Super Eagles in the 1-1 draw at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo.
It was the Hatayspor’s star second appearance for the three-time African champions.
“It was a great performance from him, that was why he played. People talk about changes but not about fielding a player. If he didn’t do well, I know that question will come back to me,’ why did he play?’Finidi told reporters after the game.
Read Also:2026 WCQ: Tanimu Upbeat About Super Eagles World Cup Qualification Hopes
“Now that he has played everybody is saying good performance. Like I said leave this job to the coaches to do.”
Dele-Bashiru was replaced by Alhassan Yusuf in the 61st minute after sustaining an injury.
Finidi said the former Sheffield Wednesday player will be assessed to know the extent of the injury.
“On his injury, he had a knock, the medical staff will observe him and see how he feels. Those knocks, you will not know until you wake up in the morning and see how the body reacts,” he added.
11 Comments
This is trolly the only positive decision that could be added to your resume! Bur here is my concern, to maintain balance you’ll have to select between him and Iwobi. It’s obvious godfatherism will not make you think right.
The introduction of Alhassan provided the much needed solidity and really helped in ball winning and possession. He recovers the ball with ease and release with incision.
Ndidi got overwhelmed from the adverse effect of starting three defensively poor and ball losers (Kelechi, Onuachu, and Iwobi)
Onyedika is beginning show glimpses of Europe breed midfielder.
Chikwueze is pulling his weight, it’s obvious he is making effort to be relevant but still needs to improve his right foot.
Imagine if you had invited at least three of these defenders Balogun, Osho, Ekong, Aina, Akpoguma, Ogbu..
Instead of wasting the slots with your match rusty senior bench warmer boy and Dongo, you could have invited Awo and play Moffi behind him.
The next match will expose how your knowledge and team management.
*boni* not moffi
Could Ibrahim Olawoyin be a wildcard against Benin Republic?
Fisayo Dele-Bashiru endeared himself to Super Eagles fans with an all round resplendent midfield play peppered with purposeful movements, 1v1 proficiency, neat passes and an eye for goals.
But with him now unlikely to recover on time from injury for the next match, will Coach Finidi be bold enough to throw Olawoyin in the fray?
Finidi’s starting 11 against South Africa was wildly experimental but it proved successful. Tanimu produced at least 2 goals saving interceptions, Osayi-Samuel held his own in unfamiliar left back, almost scoring a goal, Dele-Bashiru scored and gelled with Iwobi and Ndidi in midfield whilst Onuachu at least had a hand in the goal even though his limited pace limited his effectiveness.
I really enjoyed the game but felt Nigeria were way too open to hurt South Africa without been hurt themselves. It’s an approach the will enthrall and entertain at the expense of keeping a clean sheet or winner flawlessly.
In any case, I hope Finidi plays Olawoyin in midfield. Tanimu was competent but not a natural fullback. In fact his best defensive outputs came inside the 18 yard box making him more suited to centre defence.
I like how Nwabili slotted in between Ajayi and Bassey to become a third center back. It created plausible passing options and allowed the other outfield players push upwards.
This fluid amorphous team shape adopted by Finidi is truly fascinating and enjoyable to watch. With the right players and more compactness, it might just work, but it’s early days. I am thoroughly sold on its entertainment value, less so about its ability to get favourable results consistently.
@deo, did we watch the same match or are you analyzing the FIFA 2024 version of the match?
It seems Finidi has paid you some Naira to promote him on CSN
Finidi is highly clueless in yesterday match and nothing good can be attributed to him. He only assembled his favorite 11 players and told them to go out there and do there thing. No tactical imput, no input that could change the game.
Can you imagine a whole super eagles players who are serial winners in top 5 leagues in Europe struggling to hold players of Mamelodi, kaiser chiefs and Orlando Pirates, local Soweto clubside compared to Europa league winners, Bundesliga Champion, French league to 4, Italian league runners up etc.
Shame no dey catch you @Deo, you suppose cover your face in shame that you can only draw with local players like Bafana Bafanas
In 4-3-3, my ideal line up in the next match is:
Nwabili (GK)
Tanimu (RB)
Awaziem (CB)
Bassey (CB)
Osayi-Samuel (LB)
Ndidi (DM)
Olawoyin (AM)
Iwobi (AM)
Chukwueze (RW)
Lookman (LW)
Iheanacho (CF)
Another experimental line up but one with a ring of consistency from the last match.
@Deo… I don’t think you played football… and this is not to slight your knowledge of the game. A game the magnitude of which we playing needs two defensive midfield anchor given our suspect defence.
Frank Onyeka(if fit) and Onyedika should play the pivot and Ndidi can pair Awaziem at central defence. In that case Bassey can play leftback if Sadiq whom I think can do the LB job isn’t trusted.
I will go for a lineup as below:
Nwabali
Osayi..Awaziem..Tanimu..Bassey
Onyeka(Ndidi) Onyedika(Alhassan)
Moffi………….Lookman
Iwobi
Boniface
Thanks Jimmy,
I doubt Finidi will change course but I stand to be corrected.
In the second half, he did play double pivot defensive midfield in patches, so I think you may be on to something.
That defensive infrastructure was way too fragile and cracks were opened up in our midfield.
But men, I loved the football; thoroughly enthralling and attack minded but defensively suspect. If only he can use it to win games. Fingers crossed.
Our chances of qualifying for the world cup are slim – very slim.
This lineup is minus three, the coach messed with the players invitation so now is too late. Olawoyin and Dele will surprise u guys in Benin if Slim Shady put tribalism aside and uses his brain. And play them .But it’s too late now I said before with Skim Shady Nigeria ain’t nowhere.I hope Air peace, Pinnick, and Eguavon are enjoying their local coach now. Finidi will never qualify Nigeria for any World Cup fact. My Bet still on
My Line Up is as Follows
Nwabali
Osayi
Tanimu
Bassey
Awaziem
Ndidi (C)
Onyeka(Iwobi comes on 51th minute)
Bashiru
Chukwueze
Boniface
Lookman
Second Half subs: Iwobi (can also start), Moffi, Onyedika with Alhasan as subs
My line uP
NWABILI
TANIMU AJAYI BASSEY
YUSUF NDIDI ONYEKA IWOB
CHUKWUEZE BONIFACE LOOKMAN
Thank you Deo for this analysis, I agree with your submission 100%, it’s one of the most objective comments I have read after the march, valid suggestion made should be imbibed by Finidi.
I have observed over the years that in criticizing coaches for Fielding particular players critics don’t usually ask what was the preferred player attitude towards training in the camp? What should a coach base his choice of players on the match day on? Is it on club form or camp performance?