Super Eagles are through to the Playoff Round of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers after they were forced to a 1-1 draw by second-placed Blue Sharks of Cape Verde at Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos.
Victor Osimhen pounced on a defensive mistake in the first minute to give the Eagles the lead, but Cape Verde defender Stopira volleyed home the equaliser five minutes later.
Completesports.com‘s AUGUSTINE AKHILOMEN in this piece x-rays seven major observations from the game.
Okoye Not Convincing In Goal
Sparta Rotterdam goalkeeper, Maduka Okoye, could have done better in stopping the Cape Verde’s goal but for poor positioning, the ball went straight under his two legs. Aerially, Okoye still has lots of work to do if he must remain as Super Eagles number one goalkeeper.
Ighalo, Osimhen Combo Yielded Good Result
There is no doubt that the pairing of Odion Ighalo and Victor Osimhen in the attack gave the Cape Verdian defenders a nightmare. Ighalo, who made a return to the Super Eagles after two years in international retirement could have scored a goal but for the timely save made by Cape Verde goalkeeper. His swapping of positions with Osimhen, whose pace caused more havoc in the attack, was rewarded with a goal.
Aribo Should Add Creativity To His Game
Rangers midfielder, Joe Aribo, is blessed with flair for locating a teammates with well tailored passes. However, he has failed to exhibit such skills in the Super Eagles, most especially in the game against Cape Verde.
Eagles’ Lacked Concentration In The Defence
The few goals the Super Eagles have conceded in the qualifiers have been due to lack of concentration. This was also obvious in the goal they conceded against Cape Verde at the Teslim Balogun Stadium. The players switched off few minutes after Osimhen netted the opening goal.
Simon Deserves Eagles’ Bench Role
Nantes winger, Moses Simon, was more like a ‘passenger’ in the game against Cape Verde as he provided no attacking threat from his right position. A player like Chidera Ejuke should be saddled with the responsibility in subsequent games.
Collins Getting Better In Every Game
Paderbon defender, Jamilu Collins, continued from where he stopped against Liberia as he made some brilliant overlap forays and crosses from the left wing position. He’s gradually making the position his, going by his impressive display against Cape Verde.
Rohr Still Struggling To Pick Effective First Eleven
Super Eagles German tactician, Gernot Rohr, seems to be struggling to get his first eleven right.
Knowing the importance of the game, the Super Eagles were far from convincing as they failed to take the game far away from Cape Verde early enough.
Playing in front of the passionate crowd in Lagos, the Super Eagles struggled to stamp their authority on the game, especially in the second half. Rohr also made late substitutions in the game and when they came, it had little or no effect on the game.
Fans of Super Eagles had to endure a nervy match, especially at the concluding stages as Cape Verde pressed for the winning goal to upset the hosts and book a spot in the final round of the Qatar 2022 qualifiers.
Photo: By Ganiyu Yusuf
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COMMENTS
What’s NFF Still waiting for? Until we lose out during play off? Can this team win play off matches? There’s no coaching. Just Individual quality of Osimhen and Ndidi.
There’s coaching.
You are in the final playoffs because there’s absolutely good coaching!
Be grateful Nigerians you are very difficult people to please you think everything is bread and butter!
You guys should wake up football has improved.You think you are better than everyone so winning is your birthright no Cape Verde are in Lagos to count the many bridges in the city!Wow how difficult is it to please this people damn it!!
10 countries I mean good footballing nations have kissed Qatar good-bye we are in the race won 4 drew one and lose one yet you are raging wow.
Rohr has done well he deserves to be lauded it’s not as easy as you think.He is meeting targets he’s making progress that’s what matters the team will surely get better during the traditional two weeks camping prior to the Afcon.Then the coach can make the changes they couldn’t in the qualifiers due to the short time they have to play this games.
I’m sure after the nations cup we shall present a more dreaded team for the final playoffs we shall improve there will be new introductions better ones the team will be more cohesive Ighalo/Osimhen combo will get better both complimented each other.The attack was dangerous until the two slow ones where introduced which unfortunately killed the attack.Onuachu I’m afraid has no business in the super eagles!
I was expecting you to say that after Rohr might have won the nation’s cup or is he going there for a jamboree again after six years in saddles?….Rohr has nothing to offer Super Eagles again , he is a liability instead of an asset!!
@Steve O and Other Forum mates I beg you honest and Loving Nigerians of SE please do not comment or Respond to anybody who is still backing Rhor. They are NFF officials. Please guys you will fuel them they will band together and make their voices stronger for negative cause. Please my dear brothers leave Rohr lovers alone, they are not SE fans rather Rohr Fans.
Really, lmao….some people are just jokers….Because u dislike Rohr but want a local bribe taker in charge, anyone that disagree s with your opinion is from Nff lol….The football might not be pretty, it is also not ugly….Is the team parking the bus like Mourinho’s team? What this team needs is for the players to up their game and the team should gel more and on the part of the coach,he absolutely needs to make subs earlier…. Anyone that says because he has been on charge for some years that the team should be settled has to understand that this is not club football, there would always be players coming in and others going out, so anything like permanent cohesiveness of the team is null and void….
The truth. Rohr is not a very good coach. He relied on Victor Moses and Ighalo’ individual efforts to exhale into the world cup in 2018.At the world once Moses and Ighalo’ did not click against Agentina and croatia we faded.Another three years and he couldn’t find replacement.Nigeria has two players that can play the Moses role but he is not encouraging them.Emmanuel Denis and the boy in Fernebache.They have the speed and agression for such role.In the defence why is the coach dropping Ajayi.Ivwatched him play the central defence against Brazil in a friendly and he was simply fantastic.The combo of Balogun and Ekong were tried at the last world cup along with Omeroua and we had little successful.Why will they not try Ajayi.We can see that Awazien is turning out to be our best defender becus of opportunity giving.
You just nailed it sir. Rohr has his deficiencies but he’s meeting his targets. I can imagine what it would feel like to be given a job to do, get that job done and still get slaughtered in the press. Doesn’t mean the man is perfect far from it, but our national team and football in general has more problems than Rohr.
In the past we could look at the age grade teams, especially U21 and U23 and predict the boys who’ll take over from the people in the Eagles, now we have no functional age grade teams. All you need to do is read the opinions on this forum to see people canvasing for one foreign born Nigerian or the other, to get your proof. It’s a ticking time bomb; without vibrant U17, U21 and U23 teams the Eagles will get stale.
Ekong has lost form the past few games, but he’s still better than those on the bench and so has to play. In the Eagles there is no sub for Alex Iwobi – inspite of his many limitations.
Kelechi Iheanacho was an absolute disgrace when he came on against Cape Verde – it was like he was playing for the opposition. Easily dispossessed of the ball and never tracked his opponent to win it back, thereby exposing our midfield and defense. Rohr had to shout at him at some point yesterday. No coach can never rely on this guy in crucial games, he’ll get that coach sacked. He takes no responsibility on the pitch. Senior man for mouth.
Paul Onuachu is not Super Eagles material. His game does not suite the team. He lumbers about on the pitch like it is made of sawdust. He offers absolute nothing with the ball on the ground, and he does not press the centre backs – an absolute must for the way we play.
Rohr took one look at that attack and had to beg Jude to come back at age 33.
Again I ask, these guys are not performing well, but what is in the production line. What player of national team quality has our age grade teams produced in the last six years? The U17 teams of 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2015 (added to a few guys born abroad) have carried the national team for the past 15 years, what has happened in the past 6 years? What is the job of Pinnick’s NFF and the so-called Sports Ministry if not football and Sports development? Why are our so-called journalists afraid to ask these questions even though these people collect money from FIFA every year for this purpose?
Iheanacho has always been like that. Try and observe his games in the EPL. He usually loses possession easily, in fact he hardly holds the ball without losing it. I think that’s why Guardiola sold him. His best game under Guardiola was against Man Utd, and I think Guardiola gave him clear instructions to play 1-touch football.
We as Nigerians have this unconscious bias towards Iheanacho because of his performance in U17. But if you watch his Leicester games objectively, you’ll notice his weaknesses.
Wettin we need na sound Foreign Coach, We go fit afford him, If we no fit na because sey Pinnick dey chop all the money. If na di koko be dat den he should be axed. Nigeria Comes first . Not Rohr or Anybody else PERIOD!!!!!!!!!!
@Greenturf and @Jenyo Samuel are one and the same person morphing aliases on this forum… I am very sure both aliases are being used by @Dr.Drey.
Lol… dude has become a masquerade hiding and morphing after taking hot dose of blood pressure tonic from the alomost 70year old coach of 9ja…
You’re just disgracing yourself up and down the forum with this your beer parlor comments. That’s why nobody is taking your comments seriously again. Greenturf has been on this forum since we started it. I’ve known him since the days of africaplays. I thought you’re smarter than this.
U r wonderful Daddy,Nigerians don’t appreciate something good when they see one.We even concede defeat before a match is played.In 2013 we conceded defeat to Ivory coast before the match.But defeated them on match day
Beautiful Analysis. I quite agree with your assessment. The only missing link is that you forgot to mention that Troost Ekong should be benched too. Hes getting lethargic.In fact I think the Oyibo wall as a whole is getting lethargic either out of laziness or loss of form. I think Ekong especially shoild be consigned to the bench. It is evident that tge fact hes not been playing lately for Watford has affected his game for tbe Super Eagles. The Central defence looked jittery thru out the game. I prefer Awaziem and maybe Akpoguma or Omeruo in that central defence. Secondly after the Brazil game, Aribo has been a complete shadow in all Eagles matches till date. He and Iwobi need lots and lots of stamina training. They cant withstand strong opponents at all. May God save us.
Nigeria team lost 5 points from home games and win all the away games. This clearly showed that Teslim Balogun Stadium is not a good slaughter house for Nigeria team. The football field might not be okay and I advised the team return to Goodwill Akapabio Stadium
Complete Sports stop misleading us Awoniyi Osigoal pairing will do us more good. Our media has a lot to play in sports development and must be void of corruption as well. This is why I love the German and British press!
Ighalo is a Static player, waiting for a free pass to score cheap goal… Bring Awoniyi, Umar, Dessers, Dennis, et al ASAP…!Complete sports is biased. How many shots on target did Ighalo offer in the match? CSN answer us!!! Ye ye dey smell…
Osimhen is miles ahead of the retired and tiring Ighalo!
Seriously all the individuals pushing for the coach to be sacked are clueless.
Good pairing there with osimehn and ighalo only that the latter was just unlucky with the chances. But what is wrong with Moses Simon this days? Dude use to be impressive…And my heart goes out for maduka okoye. I love him and I will seriously want him to be the no1.But why is he so inconsistent? By now we ought to have fixed this goal keeper thing. I mean after peter rufai, there was Ike shorunmu, and immediately there was Vinny but why is it taking us like ages for this generation to have a replacement in that order???
Patternless Eagles …I pray we get Egypt in the next round
Because of your hate for Rohr you don’t want Super Eagles to qualify…Rohr is not fantastic but he remains the coach but you,Ugo,jimmy,omo9ja,Chima and co. Are praying for the Eagles not to qualify. Just to prove your silly point that Rohr is inept tactically.My brother, Nigeria comes first so weather we like it or not Rohr would still be Nigeria’s coach till next year….we need to be together to support the Eagles because all these hate and insults would not do our chances of qualifying any good
Nigeria will be beaten both home and away by Egypt with ease
Never ever. Under Gernot Rohr, Nigeria will win Egypt or Algeria with a game to spare.
That’s what we are talking about only coach who has the confidence, and technicality will be able to identify where his/her team needs improvement when you talk a look at the team technically you we see that the team entirely lack game plan, their technical approach is very poor, they lack confidence those of us that are expecting more from this team should be careful not to be disappointed cus for me i have seen the team game level so i will not be disappointed in future games except there’s drastic changes to the team.
As far as l am concerned, Balogun Stadium is the Nigeria worst enemy. Any team in Africa will defeat Nigeria at home. Allow me to put it to you in my simplest language here and now, Nigeria will not go the World-Cup because of the Balogun Stadium. Return to Uyo immediately. It has nothing to do with Rohr or any other factors. Egypt, Morocco, Algeria even Cameroon will thrash Nigeria in Balogun. Don’t say l did warn you.
a
Nigeria has lost a game on that pitch also in the past stop this sensationalism.
While I don’t have a thing against the coach and all his fans, I think the man has exhausted all his know-how, it is time for Super Eagles to move forward with a New Coach.
The truth remains that even the NNF knows that this coach can’t win us any trophy and if it happens by accident, we must give good credit to the individual brilliance of the players. I used to defend Rhor, but nop more my dear friends. With the calibre of players that we have now in the national team, Cape-Verde and other minnows should not become a bottleneck to us again.
If NFF can afford a coach, it is high time we got another.
I come in peace, my people.
Anybody who is saying Ighalo and Osimhen Combo is not right upstairs, whether they combine well together it is of no use having a static and SLOWER Ighalo in the team over a @nd Highest Goal scorer in Germany. People if we are still debating this then I am tired. Ighalo will soon retire Awoniyi and Osimhen have their careers ahead of them so it only makes more snse that they Create that bond now in the national team. What is so hard to see the sense in that. Or Is Ighalo NIGERIA?????..
Please NFF do the rightful thing and Drop Musa and Ighalo or maybe Onuachu then Leave Ighalo but, Awoniyi must Be ahead of Ighalo in the Super Eagles Pecking order. It is called Merit people need to understand this simple phenomenon.. Why Should a team that doesn’t invite players on Merit deserve to be at a tournament on Merit?. it is simple Load your Team with Underserving Un merited players and you shall reap what you sew. if you are calling a mediocre Player your Captain then your team will get mediocre results..
We reap what we sew in life if Nigerians want Mediocrity okay o the universe will duely oblige. you can’t escape Karma!!!!
There are actually some players in the national team that shouldn’t be there if really we have a good bench. Politics is ruining everything in Nigeria. If we don’t divorce politics from Super Eagles Camp, we many not be going to the World Cup.
My 7 Observations
The Super Eagles put up a determined display to avoid an upset that in truth seemed on the cards against a feisty Cape Verde yesterday by eventually settling for a 1:1 draw in the world cup qualifier in Lagos.
Vivacious Victor Osimhen blasted home from close range in just 1 minute to put Nigeria ahead before Ekong and Okoye contrived with shoddy defending to give Cape Verde a route back into the encounter in 6 minutes with Stopira’s shock finish.
The 33 year old veteran Cape Verde full back, who incidentally is winger Funsho Bamgboye’s teammate at Fehervar in the Hungarian Premier League, peeled off Ekong with ease to shoot past Okoye in style to set the tone for a tension soaked, nail biting encounter.
Cape Verde were determined to make a contest of this and the Super Eagles had to be alert and tuned-in to avoid a third debacle on home soil in recent times following the Sierra Leone capitulation of last year and the Central Africa Republic collapse of this year.
Mercifully, they kept the Cape Verdeans at bay long enough to see out the match.
Below are my 7 observations:
1. Oyinbo wall duopoly not sustainable: Ekong and Balogun have served Nigeria well over the years but I think they are coming to the end of their tether. As a duo, their capacity to avoid mistakes is now untenable. They both are ungainly at times in their approach and always look very vulnerable under pressure. Awaziem had to be brought to inject additional support without which Ekong and Balogun’s frailties could be more easily exposed and explored.
It is clear, if Rohr reverts to a back-two, either one of them or even both of them have to be consigned to the bench.
2. Ndidi and Iwobi have impeccable workrate: when it comes to abilities, I think we can definitely find players who rival Iwobi and Ndidi in Nigeria’s midfield. But when it comes to work rate, selflessness and endurance, both players are unsurpassed. They are the quintessential engine room of Nigeria’s midfield whose impact will be missed if unavailable.
Nigeria dictated the tempo of the game for long periods yesterday with a clear pattern, fluid approach and uniform movements. And while I will not want to diminish the contribution of others, I thought Iwobi and Ndidi were at the heart of everything good: helping to recycle the ball and peg back Cape Verde.
Both players will be needed in the crunch playoffs next year.
3. Aribo and Collins much improved: in an aspect of the game that sets wingbacks apart as top quality, Collins showed marked improvements – this is deliveries. Collins could easily have had 2 assists to his name yesterday had Osimhen and Ighalo found their shooting range. He was all over Cape Verde like a rash up front and defended doggedly at the back. That said, there is still scope for magic and elegance to be injected in that role which Collins lacked. Other options should be tried.
Similarly, the centre midfield position should evoke moments of amazement and release this elixir of delight that continue to be absent from Aribo’s interpretation in Super Eagles colours. But, the Rangers man showed remarkable improvements in his movements, distribution, focus, application, work rate and efforts on goal.
He can walk with his head held up high with his effective display yesterday. But that role offers so much more…
4. Ighalo’s strike partners to work harder: it is clear from yesterday that Ighalo will locate himself mainly in and around the opposition 18 yard box. This might work well for Nigeria because it ensures that someone will always be at the end of passes. You see, Osimhen and Iheanacho have the tendency to move around a lot – not a bad thing but with Ighalo, he always seeks to sit around the 18 yard box to wait for the perfect opportunity to pounce – however long it takes.
Hence he had no less than 4 great chances to score within the first 30 minutes. The down side of this is that unlike Osimhen and Iheanacho, Ighalo will not do his fair share of defending. Also, his strike partner will have to work harder and cover more grounds which may seem slightly unfair.
5. Moses Simon and Maduka Okoye are suspects: the Nantes winger is actually astute defensively but his utility with the ball isn’t optimum. For better deliveries from the wingback, Rohr may need to seek out a player who defends and attacks with the same level of effectiveness and productivity.
Goalkeeper Okoye was comedic in his efforts to stop Cape Verde’s goal. Yes he has a massive capacity to improve but in the short-term, Okoye’s shortcomings could come to hurt the Super Eagles.
6. Where to play Chukwueze and Ejuke: it is clear that in a 3-5-2 formula, it will be tricky to accommodate Chukwueze and Ejuke. Both are explosive wingers with questionable defensive attributes. So it will be hard to play them as wingbacks.
Efforts were made to inject Ejuke as an attacking midfielder in the penultimate game against Liberia but this proved to be a vanity project.
If Rohr should persist with this formation, he would need to fashion out a way that provides the right platform for the Ejukes of this world to thrive.
7. Super Eagles can rise to the occasion: despite the frailties identified across all departments for Nigeria, Rohr’s Super Eagles showed me yesterday that, when the chips are down, they can raise their game and rise to the occasion.
Yesterday, they displayed positional discipline that was executed to perfection across the park. Because of the tensed nature of the game, many fans didn’t realise how organised, compact, focused, purposeful, fluid and coherent the Super were in their play.
Few players were drawn out of position. Nigeria dictated play with 53% of possession with 14 goal attempts against just 3 for Cape Verde. The Super Eagles functioned as close to a well oiled machine as I have seen in recent games. As the Cape Verdeans attempted to pile the pressure in the second half, the Super Eagles expertly kept them at bay whilst looking to sneak in a goal.
It was a competent display but one lost in the fog of tension generated by the need of Nigeria not to slip up.
Hopefully Rohr and his boys can build on this display and get better in subsequent games.
Wow…..thank you deo
Nice one @deo. Your analysis are perfect but nonetheless, I think bringing in Herve Renard as a coach wouldn’t be bad considering his exploits and doggedness as a coach.
This is beautiful, tactical and very good profession write up. Respect bro.
@Deo I disagree with you you totally on Iwobi, Ighalo… Iwobi is a good player his problem has always ben endproduct… dude is almost 26years and over the years, he has always been advised to learn how to be incisive with his drives and get into good shooting positions to unleash strikes… Iwobi often goes 90minutes without marking and hustling in the middle, he cannot tackle or slide, I hate midfielder who cannot drop down to win tickles… it is one of the standout attribute of any midfielder whether CM, DM or AM… as for Ighalo, he has absolutely no use coming back… his level is right now far behind what we need in Super Eagles… we need Awoniyi to pair with Osimhen, if other considerations are to be considered then… Dessers, Sadiq… Peter Olayinka need to be drafted into the team to ocuupy the left flank in the absence of a yet to switch Lookman… the likes of Ahmed Musa, Shehu, Ekong and Iheanacho should ne chased away from the team… Iheanacho is the most useless forward I have seen playing for Nigeria in a long while… as for Onuachi, let him just go to the moon and continue his national team career there… he is too longly sluggish… hahahaha! Walahi… I still the vex from yesterday panick attack wey I suffer due to a carpenter coach leading our charges… Peter Olayinka light Czech league and Europe for two seasons back to back… it took Rohr forever to invite him because he will not bribe them… that whiteman has been on the streets in Africa’s sahara hustling fraudulently for years now… NFF please send Rohr back to France to through the sahara from whence he came along… enough said!
Jimmy,
I think the scope of your response goes way beyond the boundaries of my analysis of yesterday’s match against Cape Verde.
Whilst I understand that you hold strong views about Iwobi and Ighalo, I think it is very possible to assess their performances yesterday in a manner devoid of pre-conceived opinions.
For me, yesterday wasn’t so much about uninvited players, rather about how invited players performed.
Good analysis. Well-done.
Thanks Eric.
Appreciated @Deo. Pls where is Dr drey? Hope he is ok
Many thanks Abdul, Chuks, Ndubest and Peter.
Objectively written as always @Deo
I concur with most of your points; they are valid; but I am still against the recall of Ighalo. I feel he has served us well and has done his bid.
From my observations yesterday, he doesn’t have the legs to do what his instincts smells out. He is much slower and heavier.
Even when he gets to good position, like I said,he still have the instincts to be in right positions, he fluff his lines. Not for anything because he simply doesn’t have the legs any longer.
Mentally,he is tensed cause he is under the pressure to prove himself and justify his recall. Which is quite unnecessary for a guy that has done so much good for his country.
With Ighalo’s inclusion,So much load were placed on Osimhen. He had do so much running and was out of position most of the time. Hence he was burnt out.
Instead of wasting time trying to build an Ighalo and Osimhen combo, we should be doing that with a more younger player that has the time to grow. After all ,Osimhen is still young. We shouldn’t be looking just at the short time, we should be proactive and forward thinking. We are gifted with younglings doing well in their clubs in the mold of Awoniyi,Sadiq,Moffi and a much mature revitalised,Dessers.
Ighalo could be a stop gap for the Afcon and March qualifier, both are close, but the world cup is in the winter. What happens then?
No one gains experience without opportunity. Trust those that merit that opportunity and give them the time to prove their worth thereby gathering that experience necessary. After all, they play with some of the best in the world week in week out over there in Europe. Look at the best teams in the world and how they are filled with youths who merit their days under the sun. It is all about trust, time and chance.
As for Collins, my jury is still out on him. I am still not really convinced he is better than Zaidu or Aina, both I believe can play his position better.
These are just my observations; got nothing against these players and Rohr; the Super Eagles is simply bigger than us all. We share thoughts and ideas to get better.We all want the best for our country.
Thanks Mr Hush and great observations from you up there. As much as I don’t endorse Ighalo’s recall, nonetheless I don’t think he is a spent force.
As you tacitly allude to, Ighalo is a stop-gap and should be viewed from that lense.
I personally think Rohr might be on to something with his Ighalo – – Osimhen combo. Both accomplished finishers with one (Ighalo) permanently stationed in and around the 18 yard box and his younger partner in crime doing the stake-out with breathless movements.
It might just work!
Sadly, it means we have to wait that bit longer for the likes of Awoniyi, Umar and Moffi to nestle in Nigeria colours.
Rohr wants Ighalo and however much a bevy of fans fume about his inclusion, I think Ighalo is here to stay and I have to just leave with it and appraise his performance game-by-game.
Without being biased, Osimhen and Ighalo’s partnership looked very promising yesterday. There was chemistry between them and the communication was building.
They are both big name players whose selection will strike fear in the minds of our opponents.
Ighalo still has assists in him and can definitely score goals. He is not expected to last 90 minutes which means we are sure to see other strikers being introduced more often.
Rohr’s Eagles are dull and mundane at times but also compact and business-like when they need to.
Love him or hate him, we all know that Ighalo is business-like and pragmatic in his play.
Profound response @Deo
Glad you got to understand my perspective on Ighalo .
He is someone I respect; mostly for his humble service to our nation and a pride to me during his short stay at the club I support; Manchester United.
Trust me, I do understand what Rohr is trying to do with Ighalo and Osimhen. I just feel we are sacrificing our tomorrow for today ; Today that still feels “bland”. It shrieks of shortsightedness, laziness and cowardice. Just hope it doesn’t come and bite us.
But I comprehend your thoughts; like I stated earlier;they are valid.
I guess we just wait and see; there is nothing much we can do than to watch from afar, speak our minds when necessary and hope for the best. The best is all we seek.
@Hush, thanks for your explicit, unbiased and unethnically jingoistic analysis. This is what separates you from other analyst whose comments are becloided with Tribalism and favoritism.
They will continue to see nothing wrong in ineffective SENIOR MAN or one dimensional ONWUACHU or depreciating IWOBI bit they will continue to flood this forum with their criticism of Moses when they know fully well that the guy plays from the left and he’s more productive for his club in this position. They will ignore Iwobi lapses and continue to criticize Aribo, when it was obvious that he was the most attacking threat aside Osi.
The same set of jingoist only wants to see players from their tribe in SE and they will continue to hide under ambiguous epistle to carry out their hidden agenda..
Forumites like Ugo, omo9ja, pompei, Sunnyb, and others and Jimmy have really tried providing unapologetically balanced analysis and recommendations.
Let us be objective and ensure that we remove Tribalism from our comments..
Why are this sam set of people not talking about how poorly Iheanacho has performed in 5he last three matches..
In the last match.. Aribo provided more attacking threats than Iwobi despite the fact that he played behind him..
Simon Moses has provided a balance from the right wing back, that’s the reason why most of our opponent offensive threats came from the left..
It’s just insane how some sickos take others for a fool when they make comments with hidden agenda.
I’m not talking about Dumbo Roar because most of his staunch supporters have seen enough of what Ugo, Jimmy and Omo9ja have warned us about..
Much greetings@ Larry
Enjoy reading your thoughts
We are all here to give our honest views on how to make our team better. No matter where we stand and our thoughts on issues relating to our National teams; it is all for our good.
Sometimes we might be right, sometimes we might be wrong on our assessment; at the end we spoke ,we shared knowledge, we learned and hopefully, things change for better.
The one common denominator we share is our National Team; we feel the same pain when things go wrong. we feel the same joy when we succeed. Hopefully,it would be more of success.
For you to say Omo9ja is unbiased in his analysis, just shows your reasoning. We all know that Senior Man has his off days and the days he lights up the pitch. Same with Iwobi. I only support players with purpose and intent not just some flash in the pan in an obscure league somewhere. But honestly, I now see you in the same light as Omo9ja, biased and plagued with error in thoughts. The truth is all football players have the days they are great and the days they are not there. Even Messi and Ronaldo are no different.
@Ben… Ibos here on this foum will never criticise IHEANACHO, that attitude wont take us anywhere, that guy is never a player to depend on… very lazy and I cant understand why the first things he always does trying to run and track which he cannot, is to dig his drop his head facing the turf each time he tries to gather momentum to run… Iheanacho, Iwobi will never be a better player comapared to Olayinka, Junior Ajayi, Iyayi Atiemwen and Akinkunmi Amoo… the Super Eagles is always a tribal team of Igbos and a few Niger Deltans peppered with two abokis every now and then… I am an Idoma from Benue state and Moses Simon, Onazi Ogenyi are my tribe but if they dont cut it I will sound it… I have to state that Yorubas are seriously maligned and prevented from coming into the nationl team fold… it is clear!
Your hatred for Iheanacho has no dimensions. The other one problem is always Iwobi some are Collins and Simeon the unfortunate things is that these are the people who claimed to know better than the coach himself. How can these succeed has a coach when hatred and tribalism is their greatest undoing?
But I am Igbo, and I already criticized him; In fact I called him performance an absolute disgrace. Guy not everyone is bigoted. If no one can see through your crusade against certain players; your championing of Peter Olayinka surely gives away your intentions.
I’ve noticed in my short life so far that it’s always people who are guilty of a thing that point accusing fingers at others.
I’ve never known opinions on this forum to be about ethnic sentiments. Please stop the unwarranted accusations and don’t bring them here.
Why bringing Igbo tribe into the issue? I’ve always known that you and your cohorts are tribal-thwarts. I’m Igbo and I have criticised Iwobi before. In fact I said “Iwobi should watch video clips of his uncle and stop the twerking-football he plays”.
People like you ans your tribal nonentities are the reasons why I strongly support Nigeria’s disintegration. Let’s go our separate ways abeg.
But useless Britian will never allow it happen because of their leeching-interest.
George Okoh 2 seconds ago
Completely agree with you. Why don’t we offer Rohr a technical director Job and get a younger coach with great ideas. Frank Lampard or Dutch coaches will suit our team. Young and brilliant coaches. Look at how unknown young coaches of Madagascar, CAR, Liberia and Cape Case push us to the wall.
@George Okoh Abeg bro no copy and past oo. @Pompei go dey para Loool!!!!!
@JimmyBall, am no tribalism either just a realist. Let us be Frank here. The Yoruba’s have had their fair chances at Super Eagles, is the days of Thunder Teslim Balogun, Mathematical Odegbami, Rasheed Yekini, Mutiu Adepoju, yusuf Ayinla, Martin’s Obafemi, Taiye Taiwo, Femi Opabunmi etc. Truth be told is by growth and agility. We hail them when they perform, but have you noticed how quick these Yoruba players jump at clubs when money is involved or fade out at a top club. Let me give you 2 clear examples – Obafemi Martin’s at Inter Milan moving to Newcastle United or Taiye Taiwo at A.C. Milan moving to QPR to rediscover his form.
Then the most annoying thing they do is not support another tribe when they lead an organization. A clear case of this was Omo9ja praise for Sunday Dare, the minister of sports and his criticisms of Pinnick. If Yoruba players do well and can work with others very well, then there is no reason to stop them from wearing national colours. But that is also the Coaches choice and not ours
Wetin this magot dey yarn, so which player doesn’t jump to a club for money, stop this your tribal comment about yoruba players served us in the past. Is that how selection needs to go now, so very soon, the igbo’s need to go and next its the hausa that needs to take over the team. rubbish
Wettin we need na sound Foreign Coach, We go fit afford him, If we no fit na because sey Pinnick dey chop all the money. If na di koko be dat den he should be axed. Nigeria Comes first . Not Rohr or Anybody else PERIOD!!!!!!!!!!
Absolutely correct looking at the goal again Okoye supposed to have done better not forgetting Ekong lost of concentration when match is not even 10 minutes long….
pls am using dis medium to beg nff president to break the oath he took with gernot roar..as the number 1 sports paper in nigeria..we enjoyed eagles top 20.. and so many memorable publication of complete sport’s..its so sad y mr amaju picknick will allow dis decay we are witnessing..a whole super eagles losing to car and drawing against carpe verde in lagos dis is unimaginable years ago..dis team cannot qualify if we meet a team like senegal, cameroon, algeria,morroc tunisia.. after 5yers in charge dis team is still yet to make up to 10 passes without mistake and everybody is keeping quiet..very bad..till we get knocked out in d 1st we will now higher a coach to start rebuilding as usual again..lets give amuneke d job and everyone will see how a team is supposed to play.
How did we perform when our matches were played in uyo?
@Deo, please don’t get yourself messed up in the retired Igahalo who is playing his retirement game in Saudi .
Your write up are always brilliant including your submissions except the aspect on Igalo in the team which was the only aspect of your write up that @Mr Hush (himself N01 Rohr’s fan, but he always came up with unbiased patriotic submission in this forum , hence he always got 100% positive rating until CSN removed the privileged).
Why are you been political and diplomatic and resigning to faith , rather than calling spade it real name ? You said . you are against the recall of the flopped lghalo which every right thinking have said even before Igahalo advertised his shambolic displayed until he was rightly removed as he was minus one on the filed , and over laboured Osimeh who had to go to the wing , middle filed to fight for ball to feed flopped Igahalo , yet you want him as a stop gap to waste a space of a deserving players the likes of Awoniyi that are in great forms in a well established serious league . Igahalo recalled was corruption taken too far, CSN have also gotten their own from the surplus dollar from Igahalo, hence you will never read any negative write up against recalled of Igahalo
Anyone that believes a retiring Ighalo should be given time in SE as Rohr advocated needs his head examined . There is no where you want to filed a player to sit in box 18 opponents waiting for awuf Goal without himself contributing anything; and even all the chances that eventually came Igahlo way , to exposed the corruption in Rohr , Igahalo embarrassingly missed them all !!
Igahalo recalled is a waste of space , minus to the team and negative to Osimeh’s output as Osimeh would burnt himself out as N0 9 who will go and fight for ball from the wing , middle field , to feed a retiring Igahalo who should be allowed to enjoy his sabbatical holiday in the holy land of Saudi .
Given Oga Rohr another decade , he has nothing to offer; if Nigeria did not kill corruption, corruption will definitely kill Nigeria; Igahlo himself knows aside his money for support of Oga Rohr who is been owned ; he has nothing to offer in the present eagle except becoming liability
Hi De Star,
I really like the part where you said I am ‘resigned to faith (or fate)’. Whichever one you meant is acceptable to me. Yes, I 100% do not endorse Ighalo’s return, however I see no benefit in crying over spilt milk.
Ighalo is here and I will watch the Super Eagles play and appraise Ighalo’s contributions in a manner devoid of my feelings (on whether he should be invited or not).
Again I agree with you wholeheartedly that Ighalo’s inclusion somewhat meant Osimhen was overworked. This is something I referenced in all my post match analyses. I don’t think that is fair on Osimhen or any other striker paired with Ighalo or maybe I am wrong; what do I know?
Personally, I would love to see Sadiq Umar or Cyriel Dessers given the opportunity instead of Ighalo but it is not my call. Rohr is in charge, Amaju is his boss and both in their infinite wisdom believe Ighalo is the one to contribute to Nigeria’s efforts of ruling Africa and making a huge statement in world football.
Let’s wait and see……
@De Star… thank you so much brother. No need to be sounding politically correctr here… @Deo is a guy we all respect on this forum and for him to
start with this Ighalo`s hallelujah now really messed my psyche up… haba @Deo… Ighalo with all the young players we have doing well in top leagues?
See the case of @Dennis even who has speed and is very skillful… Awoniyi needs no introduction… Rohr is collecting bribes in that team period! Even Simmy Nwankwo is currently far more useul than Odion Ighalo… they are deliberately shutting a lot of good players out of the team… if I have my way I will get boys to blind Coach Rohr with acid so that he can leave us alone… he is like a bone stuck in the throat of NFF & Nigerians because of Pinnick foolishness to let him insert a 2million dollar severance pay upon abrupt sack… can Gernot Rohr coach right now in even a second division team in France or Germany? The guy is past him prime and cannot find football positional emplyment anymore anywhere in Europe… but he is useful in the country of Baboons where white men are seen as next to God… shame on Nigeria!
My brother Jimmy, I am actually on the same page with you as far as Ighalo’s invitation. Where we diverge is that I have moved on from that. I refuse to allow my sentiments regarding Ighalo’s invitation cloud my judgement as to how he performs on the day.
Yesterday, I thought his contributions weren’t too bad. He showed chemistry with Osimhen and Aribo and exhibited healthy camaraderie with his other team mates. OK, he may have lost a yard of pace but even at his prime, Ighalo was never the quickest: pace was never his USP (unique selling point). Ighalo has always been a poacher.
As a former footballer yourself, you will know and agree with me that the older the footballer, the better their judgements as they see the pitch clearer in their minds-eye and can anticipate scenarios better. Without prejudice, it will not be totally out of place to ascribe maturity to Ighalo.
Like I implied before, I was very happy when he elected to step aside for younger players 2 years ago. I hope he had stayed retired. But he is here.
His coach wants him, the NFF chairman wants him and (believe it or not) there are bona fide Super Eagles fans who welcome Ighalo’s recall.
All I can do is hope for the best and pray things work out for the Super Eagles.
Kudos,the commentaries this far have been spot on.
My level of support and confidence in Rohr have taken a massive negative hits recently.The man has his many shortcomings like all of us on this platform but I don’t think sacking him is the sole answer to the super Eagles many problems.He is just an unfortunate and convenient sacking him is tantamount to treating the symptoms while the underlying ailments are ignored.Soon same maliase will come back to hurt us again and again.
If Rohr must go, he will not go down alone, his supervising department headed by Equaveon and Aigbogu must go with him.They are Rohr immediate bosses.What is their inputs in all of this? Is Equaveon not seeing that the 3-5-2 formation is not the best for our team? Does he not vet the team list? What are the development plans for the team both long term and short terms.what has happened to our conveyor belts of talents coming through? What has happened the the various age grade teams.when last did we see a precocious young local talent break into the main super Eagles team? What has happened to the CHAN team? Did Equaveon see the Cape Verde coach with his two assistants putting heads together during crucial moments of the match and providing solutions while Rohr cut a lone figure out there with too much eorkload? Why on earth, will under your watch Equaveon will you hire assistant coaches that cannot sit on the bench to provide the needed support to Rohr because both coaches do not have Caf license required by Fifa to sit on the bench in world cup matches! Did Equaveon notice that it is Trabelsi, the video analyst that was on the bench helping Rohr out.Both Yobo and Salisu were in the stands and can only advise at half time.what about during crucial moments of the match? There is a reason why we have 2 or more assistants to the main meanwhile, we have the olise ,Ammunike, Finidi and so many others with UEFA licenses jobless!
The same issues with the super falcons.Why on earth will you hire a coach for the Nigerian national team on a part time basis? Yes, Waldrum combines his super Falcon job with his secondary school coaching job in the United States.The man comes in a week before any match and leaves two days after the match that is what is states in his contract.Meanwhile, the second and third generation of super falcons players are qualified to be coaching the team.Worst still, they appointed Chiejiene, a goal keeper trainer as his only assistant! Do you see why our once mighty super falcons get beaten at home by south africa, struggled against teams like Mali that we normally beat with double figures.South Africa have their former player as coach.she stayed in the country and have developed the team into a formidable force watch our for them and Morocco in the next female afcon.
Now to the big elephant in the room.Amaju.With due respect and acknowledgment of what he has done for our football,I think he has gone the full cycle and need to step aside.Good a thing he has indicated that he will not contest again when his tenure expires.
He has too many things in his hands at the same time that he appears distracted.Only him is NFF President, Caf vice president and member or head of some committee, Executive member of Fifa and member of some committee.He has family to look after, businesses to look after,side chicks( if any, but na itshekiri man) friends, hanger by, sycophants etc.Haba, only one person? This is enough to make one lose focus and that is the case with Amaju.
Our local league both male and female have been on recess for a long time while other countries leagues are in full season.They will wake up in January/February with an abridged league schedule to end in May and yet Nigerians expect the champion of such charade to win the Caf champion league and confederation cup? in the Caf female champion league in Egypt, Rivers United arrived Cairo few hours before their first match and were duly beaten.They never adjusted to the conditions in the second match and were beaten again.it was after a week of acclimatizing that they spanked the Kenya team 4-0.If you don’t know this details, you will scream that the coach Edwin Okon should be fired.That is the case with Rohr.
Well said Brodaman
Even a well dedicated average coach will understand that Awaziem- Balogun pairing will provide the much needed balance and solidity in decence. Combining Awazy awareness and ruggednness with Balo’s intelligence and calmness will help SE.
Go ask Ranieri about Ekong. It took him less than a month to discover that he is not a reliable Central defender..Omeruo is no longer a regular in 2nd division team. Jamilu Collin is still useful..
Ajayi,Ebuehi,and Bassey should be given considerations.
Balogun/Ndidi should be leading this team.
Aina and Zaidu are SE wing backs or right wing.
Moses/Ejuke should be allowed to operate from the left.. Chukzy/Lookman/Dennis from the right..
The 2 central midfield position should be selected from Ndidi/Onyeka/Ejaria/Dele
/OladoyeNwobodo/Nwakali Aribo/Iwobi/Amoo/Nacho should battle for the #10
The 2 attacking slots should be taken by Awo/Desser/Sadiq/Osi..
Okoye needs competition, it’s to draft in Adeleye and Osagwe..
Ighalo should leave this team..
Roar needs to go and find another job. Heartland FC is looking for a technical adviser..
@Larry thank you… I have sounded it more times than not here on this forum that if Kelechi Iheanacho cannot cut it in the midfield he should be chased away from the team… in squad announcements they will list him in midfield taking up another players spot there and on gameday field him to play lazily in attack… Iheanacho was the reason I clamoured for Junior Ajayi and Peter Olayinka for a long time on CSN because I always knew players like Iheanacho are just average and cant be relied on when the game gets tough and crunchy… If Nigeria wants to qualify they should invite either Kelechi Nwakali or Akinkunmi Amoo to bring game for us in that No. 10 position played in the Nigeria way… whatever we discuss, the starting point should be Gernot Rohr leaving the Super Eagles charge like right NOW… anything else is a non-starter as far as I am concerned…
“@Ben… Ibos here on this foum will never criticise IHEANACHO, that attitude wont take us anywhere, that guy is never a player to depend on… very lazy and I cant understand why the first things he always does trying to run and track which he cannot, is to dig his drop his head facing the turf each time he tries to gather momentum to run… Iheanacho, Iwobi will never be a better player comapared to Olayinka, Junior Ajayi, Iyayi Atiemwen and Akinkunmi Amoo… the Super Eagles is always a tribal team of Igbos and a few Niger Deltans peppered with two abokis”….It’s incredible how u @jimmyball can make such statement in a public space, garnished with tribal hate and wickedness . Who told u that igbos dont criticise iheanacho? Do u know the tribes of everybody that comments here? U must be a genius to decipher the tribes of the people that comment here. However, you have subtlely exposed yourself as a miserable racist and tribal biggot. Does it pain u in the ass that igbos have been the major crux of the senior team right from the day football was introduced in nigeria? It is not a coincidence but a blessing that God has given ndigbo wherever they are and no man can curse. Igbos are shining lights wherever they find themselves. They always leave their mark for others to follow, hence u cant do anyrhing about it. If u like hate from now till jesus comes, theyll continue making giant strides. This is why nigeria is not working bcs of the innate hate some tribes have for a particular tribe. The same hatred u have for the ibos is the same hate you have for rohr bcs he’s white. You even ended your garbage with a jibe against our Hausa brotbers, referring to them as a “few abokis” Shame on you!!!! Spits… You have exposed urself.
@Oakfield, I believe one of the reason that many dont criticize Ihenacho is because of his performance at Leicester, plus he shows some of those qualities playing for Super Eagles. After all, he recently scored 2 goals in the World Cup qualifiers. Yes, he can sleep sometimes, but which player doesn’t.
You dey mind the clowns? Iheanacho created more than 4 good opportunities against Liberia:
1. He created a chance for Osimhen – one-on-one with the Liberian keeper but the Napoli hitman blasted the ball into the sky.
2. He created another chance which the linesman flagged off as an offside, denying Nigeria a legitimate goal.
3. He won the penalty which Osimhen scored
4. He created another delicious through-ball in the second half.
And other well-tailored-passes.
But these blind-bats won’t notice it.
Agreed, Iheanacho played badly after coming on against Cape Verde but anyone denying his quality is daft. Someone said Guardiola didn’t use him due to his weaknesses lol. These guys sef. So Yaya Toure is also a bad player because Pep Guardiola didn’t like his style of play???
Aside Victor ‘hitman’ Osimhen, how many Nigerian players can even make Man City’s bench? How many of them can make Leicester City match-day squad?
@Oakfield come and beat me… I know Olayinka is more useful than Iheanacho… Amoo is more useful than Iwobi… Onazi is more useful than Frank onyeka… even Joel Obi is more usefukl than Etebo… why wont we shout tribalism when Ezenwa was sitting on Enyimba bench for Afelokhai yet Alloy Agu will call Ezenwa, now someone else is benching John Noble but it is an inactive John Noble they will call… we know what is happening! What about Abduljeleel Ajagun… he was frozen out from the team forever meanwhile he is far better than Alex Iwobi… Lol.
Rubbish!
Ighalo introduction to the team is just for one thing.. give oshimem space to hold the ball and cause havoc.. ighalo is a Big man and more than one defender will be needed to contain him.. this was exactly what happened yesterday,the cape Verde defenders were all over him at the middle which created enough space for oshimem.. this is deadly because when oshimem has the ball he will cause trouble then imagine oshimem having the ball most of the time..
This brilliant game plan will not work with an iheancho, he will always want to keep the ball and allow defender take cover.. we don’t know of awonyi can provide this yet, he isnt much tested, same with other strikers.. probably the games before afcon will reveal the potential of other strikers.. but the soup rohn is cooking with the ighalo_ oshimem combo is still steaming with time it will be hot and delicious.. Nigerians have always doubted ighalo he knows how to silence his critics.. time will tell
@Larry ( well said , your submission is as usual excellent) ; @JimmyBall , I agreed with your brilliant submission except where you said Rohr should be sacked .
Yes I agreed with you that Rohr has nothing to offer as he cannot give what he does not have ; but sacking him will cost Nigerian a lot , because of the fraudulent clause in his contract extension; Rohr either have mercy on SE , demands for his backlog of unpaid salary and resigned himself for the betterment of the team , or we bring in combination of Amunike + Manu Garba + Peter Rufai/Ike Shorumi / Cal Ikpeme as goalkeeper trainer while Rohr is relegated to the team manager until he will do the needful .
Lastly, we should also appeal to NFF to endeavour to pay backlog of Rohr’s unpaid salary , otherwise, the like of retiring Ighalo that can help Rohr financially to pay his bills will still pay their way , where not only @Deo would resigned himself to faith but many forum members as Rohr remain the highest authority in charge of the team
@De-Star, thanks so much. You are always on point. However, I will disagree with hiring someone who is put of job for more than a year to become SE coach. Even though I have my reservations about local coaches, I still believe that based on recent performances Findi & Egbo are ahead of Amuneke…
I really love the fact that Finidi took up the challenge of leading Enyimba and the work he has done under limited time is there for everyone to see… I don’t support going local at this time but if we have to do Findi remains my top choice for the Job.
@De Star… Rohr should be told to remain in France while a combo of Amunene/Egbo/Enyeama/Ikeme/Shorubnmu/Manu are apppointed to thinker the team… having Rohr continue is equivalent to gather and play during thelatter stages of Stephen Keshi after he won AFCON and started his football agency business just like ROHR has engaged himself now… Rohr continuing will be the reason we wont qualify… no opposition coach takes him serious in Africa… let NFF buy Rohr Snuff(Anwuru) and send him off…
Iheanacho has not improved since under 17 football. Rohr must go. We need Kennedy Boboye or Ladan Bosso to manage the Super Eagles.
Yep exactly, we need ppl who can’t even manage secondary school teams to come and manage SE. Excellent suggestion!
Ladan Bosso na top quality coach. If not we can manage John Obuh.
Lool… Guy!!!! U no like us oh
You people have turned this forum to a tribal war front……The usual tribal Generals Larry and Co leading from the front…… Some even disclosing the tribe they hail from and the national team players that come from their tribe……..How will the youth excel when the old use Tribalism to divide and rule them?……What does tribe has to do with football?……Does the white man look at their tribes before giving them football contracts abroad?…… When a foreigner goes through this forum he or she will see why Nigeria is like this……From this forum am beginning to know the tribe our players come from which I never took notice of before…….I shake my head for Nigerian youths……last last una go dey alright.
That is why Nigeria can never be one, NEVER! So much hate and wickedness for other tribes for no just reason other than their successes and unrivalled giant strides despite the deliberate suppression by the powers that be to keep them from rising. Imagine jimmyball and co having sleepless nights bcs the crux of the national team meritoriously come from a particular region. It is absurd for someone to reason like this in this age when everybody is thinking of how to make this country better. Would u say that the coach is Igbo for inviting and using mostly Igbo players? He is white and does not know the difference btw Hausa, Igbo or Yoruba. All he wants are players he feels can do the job for him. This is one of the major reasons he and that miserable idiot called Larry hate rohr with passion and want him gone asap. Imagine labelling iheanacho as Lazy and referring to our northern brothers as “abokis”. Shame on that miserable tribalist called jimmyball, shame!! One nigeria my foot!
@Oakfield… Oga the truth is the truth. Iheanacho is bigly average. Have you forgotten his capitulation at Russia 2018? Dude is just a bag of average player… call me tribal when I am Idoma and always clamouring for Nwakali and Akinkunmi Amoo… look at Maduka Okoya… is not a disgrace that Aloy Agu has to continue with him whne the likes of Theophilus Afelokhai remained a seasoned goal keeper who never has been given chance… look at the Yoruba boy benching John Noble at Enyimab yet it is John Noble Alloy Agu will call… I will always say it, Junior Ajayi was completely shut out of the team… Olanrewaju Kayode too even when he was the top scorer in Austria from where the likes of Germany has picked Adeyemi… see Peter Olayinka at one time was the only Nigerian playing champions league football… the guy was kept out for the likes of Musa and Iheanacho who keeps blowing hot and cold… is Adeyemi better than Amoo? We know what is happening… I don talk my own! Before is Nigeria not a structurally tribal country? Go and ask at Aso Rock…
https://youtu.be/L23wNCNFfQQ
Check Amoo . What stops us from inviting him
https://youtu.be/L23wNCNFfQQ
Check Amoo . What stops us from inviting him
Nigerian
@Respect is Reciprocal… Super Eagles is run like a cult group… you need to belong by greasing palms! If you refuse for them to manage you, they will never invite you just like Anthony Nwakaeme elder brother revealed recently that his brother was told he needs to sign into new agancy management… how come a goalkeeper sitting on the bench will be called up while the one benching him wont even get a mention? Have you forgotten have Peter Olayinka tormented Barcelona, Inter Milan in Champions league a few seasons ago… he repeated same good outing in Europe the next year and the handlers of Super Eagles still overlooked him for a further two years before Rohr invited him this year to give him the usual three minutes in one of our useless and meaningless friendlies… tell me what is Odion Ighalo doing being allowed back? Rohr is either a fool or an idiot… he has to be one of the two! A ghost coaching a country of real intellectuals and football conscious individuals…
This Amoo good for YouTube. Invite am to Super Eagles he go dey play rubbish
Amoo is far better than Messi. He is a Nigeria. From Lagos. l take a God beg unna . He is waiting for the call. Call him now.
@JimmyBall : tribal sentiment and corruption are the major factors why Nigeria has descended low from being a giant of Africa to the Mosquito of African , football cannot be exception . Anytime I watched the young Akin Amoo , I do feel sorry how a daft Coach Rohr and his business partner NFF could be so wicked to the Nigerian Nation with the guy overlooked.
That guy Akin Amoo is the solution to the SE attacking midfield problem , there is no differences between the guy and Amokachi in his right from when he was discovered in Algier 90 until his prime days ( power pace , terrific shot , dribbling, daring opponents etc) ; you can imagine the combo with Osimeh ; how many goals Osimeh would be scoring ( that is combination of the then Rashidi Yekini and Amokachi ). Amokachi was discovered by Westerhof at age 19 as this guy Akin Amoo and displaced the almighty Siasia .
Nevertheless, I want you to know that , tribal sentiment is not only problem imposed on Rohr, but Oga Rohr too has succumbed to corruption that many of the local coaches are being exposed to because of backlog of unpaid salary hence , the likes of flopped Igahalo could paid his way , and the likes of inactive cum displayed goalkeeper John Noble is considered ahead of Yoruba keeper that benched him in his club ; I can assure you, goalkeeper John Noble unjust invitation to SE goes beyond tribal sentiment, rather compromised ; as hi allowance would definitely be shared by Agu ( As Rohr is owed so also Agu himself would be owed ; how could you have expected him to survive?
If not corruption, how could Rohr descended so low , pleading on behalf of the flopped Igahalo, to give a retiring player more time , because he has been away from the team for two years …. Haba !!! I was ashamed ; over 5 years , the clueless Rohr always come up with embarrassing excuses… my players are young , stadium field is bad , I missed Ndidi -Etebo- Osimeh etc , now it is excuse of Igahalo away from the team for two years that was responsible for his flopped
Oga Rohr does not have anything to loose , that is why he never bothered to update himself as recommended by his employer after his technical deficiencies were exposed at the WC and Afcon , as he was tutored by Algeria local coach ; at 68 years old , with no Tea Cup in his CV , no country in the entire African let alone Europe can employed him ; Nigeria is his last bus stop , he will stay to get as much as he can get from bribe and then collect his backlog of unpaid salary when the time comes .
Nigeria is the greater looser
When they go low, we go high.
Sorry to know that my loyalty to the Super Eagles and not to a dubious Dumbo Roar is really hitting home..
Like a pig in a mud looking for someone to drag into his stinking creep,they are looking for all means to attract emotional support and change the narrative. Sorry we’ve got y’all where you belong.
In the beginning, Roar said ” only active players will be considered, we all took the bait and poured champagne, only for the old craftsman to go Solomon Viv and the progressives decided to chop sense.
While the ones on the left went to sleep with lousy and stinking snores, the progressives stayed vigil and kept a close watch on Roaring Roar activities..
Roar said ” my young team” and they swallowed it and called it ogbono soup, even when the cun man craved for a retiree,they went soapy and traded ogbono for ewedu..
Oh my team is lacking top 5 leagues players, they took the dummy and became a pawn after because their master decided to invite one inactive Osu and the powerful clubless Governor..
Roaring lost a 4 goal lead and they ignore his tactical deficiency and Ekong’s defensive error and used Ajayi as the scape goat…
Dumbo Roar could not win a match in a year, they chanted qualifier with matches at hand..
Dumbo Roar broke an unwanted 32 year record, they turned to choir and choruses like it’s just a friendly match became their actions..
Dumbo Roar broke another unwanted record, first loss in 40 years, loosing to a country ranked far below SE, they ignore the wrong tactics of their and waged war on Moses and Awoniyi..
Since the last match, most of his staunch supporter have come to agree with his tactical ineptitude and wrong approach to matches…
I congratulate Roar and SE for scaling through.
I salute Rohr for probably setting the record as the first coach to win three consecutive SE away matches in a qualifier
in over –years.
The fact remains that his players invitation, match selection, and approach to matches are mostly abysmal and bias.
If he can repent and change his approach and call picnic and all evil agents surrounding the team bluffs, he might do well in the coming AFCON..
Ibrahimovic is reportedly a big fan of Amoo.
He has what it takes to fire up Nigeria’s soporific attack.
Let’s hope Sweden do not snatch him from under our noses.
We should not let sentiments and unhealthy loyalty undermine our meaningful contributions in this platform,some sections of us will hastily label anyone who highlight the apparent loopholes in the team and the flaws of the coach as a hater of Gernoht Rohr and a regressive and others will stamp anybody that support the coach as a regressive and hater of the progresss of the national team, maybe some persons might have ulterior motives behind their incessant criticisms and unhealthy loyalty to the coach but it doesn’t cut it to tag everybody as the same even when the individual is obviously making a very valid point whether against or in favour of the coach, others can hardly make a contribution without throwing tantrums and invectives against anyone that have a divergent opinions to theirs, let us be very rational in our reasoning and make our contributions be devoid of hate and unhealthy loyalty, objectivity should guide our every step, we should look beyond our nose and not stagnate ourselves to learning and growth
I am an ardent fan of Rohr don’t mean I should not say his many flaws, Yes the man has previously done very well for us and taken us from the era where we became accustom to using calculators to see if we can secure qualification hoping our closest rivals loses their match, we thank him for his contributions when team selections was largely base on merit and set a commendable standard before anyone player can get an invite to our national team but since the Covid-19 era, the team performances has nosedived to a low and the standard he used as a yardstick for players invitation has being ignored, clearly the coach has lost his spark and absolute control of the team and external influences have not help his course, even with the resources he made available to himself, he still makes some questionable calls.
For those clamouring for his sack,the man have met the target given by his employers and sacking him now will be breach of contract and the NNF would not want to pay him his severance package(2million), and the time left to the commencement of the Afcon is quite short so relieving him of his job in my opinion will do more harm than good because any new coach will find it hard to build good team chemistry and cohesion within the short time available,I am not implying it is not possible but it will be extremely difficult to attain such heights because of the limited time and with the dearth of funds( I think it is been overblown ) in the NNF coffers, getting a technically sound foreign coach looks bleak and our indigenous coaches are still suspect given their track record with corruption it remain to be seen if they can turn a new leaf, we can only hope with social outbursts from the fans the coach can revert to his good old ways and get results, some sections of Super eagles fans, myself iclusive have lost faith in him but not his employers they will still keep him because he does their bidding especially Amaju Pinnick who in my opinion is the arch saboteur of the team.
For players selection, the Oyinbo( William Troost Ekong and Leon Balogun ) wall has gone past their golden years, Awaziem and Akpoguma ( they can play central defence or right back ) combo or Awaziem/Balogun or Akpoguma/ Ekong will be fine, we got Ola Aina and Tyrone Ebuehi who are good right backs and Zaidu Sanusi/ Jamilu Collins/Calvin Bassey who can fill the leftback role, for Omeruo he is too calamitous and his frequent invitation to the national team despite his lack of playing time in his club side, Leganes in the Spanish segunda division is controversial, Alex Iwobi is persistently inconstitent ( his versatility seems to be his undoing, he haven’t being able to stamp his authority in a particular position in the pitch ) but he remains one of our best creative outlets in the team until a player is found to give him competition or outperform him I see him remaining in the starting eleven for a long time, Joe Aribo remains a vital part of the team, ways should be devised by the gaffer to accommodate both Frank and Wilfred Ndidi in the defensive midfield postion, any of chukwueze, Simon( He offers a lot defensively, he is an asset to the team )Dennis, can operate cover the flanks if called upon, Iheanacho have to start believing in his talent and improve massively to be a part of the team, Osimhen, Awoniyi, can cover the attack role, Moffi, Sadiq Umar can also be excellent additions, for Onuachu his style of play doesn’t suit the team and outside the penalty box he gives almost zero contribution to the team, Ighalo should respectfully stay retired,maximum respect to him for his goals and selfless contributions to the team in the past but his services are really not needed anymore, for our Goalkeepers Maduka Okoye is still learning the ropes but remains the best to stay in between the sticks, he will only get better but needs time, love and support from the fans, Francis Uzoho is an excellent cover to him and a valuable addition to the squad for Daniel Akpeyi, Hmmm I would rather reserve my comment than comment my reservations on him.
In hindsight, let us still keep supporting and showing love to the team and hope they scale through the final rounds of qualifiers in March no matter the opposition they face, the Super Eagles is the only national team we got, congrats to the entire team for emerging victorious in the playoff rounds, just my humble submission, I come in peace.
I can only laugh at the level of reasoning of some people. They can only come here to brandish inconsequential results Lmao!!! Both CAR and Cape Verde were defeated away with gritty efficient display. They may be looking for entertainment or pattern of play, but take it or leave it. Hate him or loathe him SuperEagles under Rohr are an efficient side. Simple analogy he has met every targets set for him thus far. SuperEagles are on their to a third straight major tournament in January and on course to fight for a place in the WorldCup playoffs in March. Anyone who’s got a problem with him meeting his targets thus far all in the name of entertainment and pattern of play can go ahead and jump in front of a moving train.
Under Rohr SuperEagles rarely lost an away qualifier. Apart from the Algeria game that was given to them after Shehu was adjudged ineligible I don’t think the SuperEagles ever lost an away qualifier since he took over the team. Guess what that is the difficult thing to achieve especially on the African continent where home advantage are always the order of the day.
This is how they all call for Westerhoffs head after we lost to Ivory Coast in the first match of the WorldCup qualifiers in 1993. The rest as they say is history. During Wrsterhoff era it’s either we lose 2-1 away and then win 3-0 or better at home to qualify for tournaments. Obviously, like the gaffer has said there’s room for improvement and with a mandatory two weeks camping before the AFCON anyone who wants to underrate this team can do so at their peril.
In fact they should all sell or throw their TVs away because there’s no entertainment or pattern of play Lmao!! Pattern of play my foot. Pattern of play that made us miss 3 out of 4 AFCONS. Most of them that are crying now are the ones who wrote Keshi’s team off before the AFCON in 2013.
Rohr has only taken the SuperEagles to two major tournaments. He won Bronze after missing two consecutive AFCONS. Yes that remains a fact. It’s on record that Nigeria missed 3 out of 4 AFCONS before the German took over the realms. We are never going to win the WorldCup anyway, but pundits all over the world dubbed his team Africa’s team of the future after the painful loss to Argentina in the dying minutes. Renowned journalists all over the world said the match between Argentina and Nigeria is one of the best games in the tournament.
Even when we had the greatest SuperEagles of all time we’ve always lost to Argentina at the Mundial. Yet his team were just minutes away from eliminating the Albicelestes. Now we’re heading to Cameroon as one of the favorites despite the cry of pattern of being play. I’m absolutely certain that this SuperEagles will not be overwhelmed by any of Senegal, Algeria, Tunisia or Morocco if paired together in the playoffs not to talk of Egypt, Mali, DR Congo, Ghana or Cameroon. The only team I can be wary of is Ghana and we’ve had their numbers in recent qualifiers that pit us together.
Obviously, it’s a tough road ahead that can make fans wary. However, one thing is certain SuperEagles raise the bar when faced with other African heavyweights I can be rest assured that they will reach the semifinals at least in Cameroon where anything is possible. The objective is to win it and this team is capable of winning the next AFCON. We have the pedigree and the players to prosecute the battle ahead. Chukwueze will be fitter, Ndidi will be fitter, I hope Osimhen stays fit, Kelechi can be annoying at times but you can underestimate his qualities. Ekong and Balogun will come to the party and Ejuke will be a joker. Iwobi will surely raise his game and I believe Awoniyi will be in the 28 man squad. Maybe one or two new discoveries along the way.
As for Akinkunmi Amoo. He’s never playing for Sweden. I follow him on Twitter and the SuperEagles is in his heart. He will surely get his call up in due time. The young lad is in only his first season in European football. Let him develop, he can still represent the next U20 and U23. If he’s pressured into the SuperEagles now and flopped it is this same people that will be threatening his life afterwards.
When I look at some of the wingers we have in the team currently, I don’t see why Amoo shouldn’t be invited posthaste.
So called wingers that can’t deliver a proper cross into the box. Wingers that can’t dribble.
Our strikers are starving. No service.
Even the 1 million naira rated Iwuala is better than some of these wingers, no offense intended.
I think Amoo could be of great use in this team. We need players that can really boost our chances of challenging for the Afcon trophy.
Up to Rohr to decide.
Yes o. Amoo and Marcus Abraham should be invited.
The problem with Nigerians is when the dusk settles most will revert to there malicious ways. It is no wonder the country will never get better. Imagine we are still debating this. It is Simple. The same list and Same tactics in March and , even Congo Dr will dismantle us. there is no debating this.
@JimmyBall, @Akp, @Omo9ja, @Larry, @Chima @Christian Ministries Nigeria, @De Star @. Forgive me if I have not mentioned your name. the sound heads on this Forum, Even @Pompei who seems to have come to his senses. Make una no waste your breath again O. You are debating with NFF Officials they are on a mission to destabilise opinions. It is sad that we may have to miss out World Cup to get things right again.
Nigeria is Curse because when we are on the right track we always seem to Bring out the gun and aim straight for our feet and blow it off. Leave them when they see what March has in store their Eyes go clear..
Any way Oil Full una heads abeg carry go noting do una. More Grace. Leave Rohr and Pinnick Lovers to thier tricks at the end they will have their yeye selves to blame.