Completesports.com’s Live Blogging of Argentina 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup Group D matchday-3 game between A Selecao of Brazil and the Flying Eagles of Nigeria at Estadio Unico Diego Armando Maradona
Brazil Vs Nigeria Live Blogging – 2023 FIFA U-20 W/Cup; Group D Matchday 3
Nnamdi Ezekute
Nnamdi Ezekute, a sports reporting expert, has risen through the ranks at Complete Communications Limited (CCL) famed for publications like Complete Sports.
Email: [email protected]
X (Formerly Twitter): @Ezekutive
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123 Comments
I wish Flying Eagles the best. Our boys should approach the match with seriousness. We have to be beat Brazil that is it. God is in control. God bless Nigeria!!!
Wishing omo naija nothing but the best
Am supporting Africa …
Naija true African giant
Let’s go naiaj
Thank you my man. God bless Africa. God bless Nigeria!!!
UP Nigeria!
FLYING EAGLES GO FOR VICTORY!
DON’T BE LIKE THE SENIOR CHICKENS
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So you had to use my name to sell your stupidity…..??
You sure never get tired of fooling yourself ey…!
I had a raucous laughter when I read that knowing your SIGNATURE writing style, I knew it wasn’t YOU and you were gonna come HARD for the IMPOSTOR!
Link to watch the match
That’s a pure goal, it hit under the roof of the bar and over the line. The VAR did a poor job there. So far good job FE
Who is watching d game should help with links please. What is the scire and how are d FE doing as I’m not currently watching d match
The Flying Eagles are struggling to string passes together. Daga is playing to physically.
https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/tournaments/mens/u20worldcup
Go to Facebook and type in Nigeria vs Brazil
The whole ball didn’t cross the line. Brazil are playing better. The Flying Eagles are trying.
No, it was a goal. Go and watch the replay again.
The field resemble Abuja stadium field o…chai
Not at all. It is how they design the grass. It is beautiful.
Which design are you talking about? The field is heavy a grass is patchy. Nobody designs fields like that on purpose. The rains have been falling all tournament long and you can clearly see the bay effect
It is called camouflage grass design. It is meant to look bad whereas it is good.
Story land!
This team is not playing very well.
Completely disagree. They are mixing it up with the Brazilians in the midfield and holding their own and maybe even coming out on top. They’ve created just as many chances as the Brazilians including hitting the bar and forcing a goal line clearance by the brazilian goalie. Good match so far
Don’t you see Brazil having more possession? Nigeria is struggling badly. They almost gave away a penalty kick. This kick and follow football is bad.
You’re just making stuff up now. Unless you aren’t actually watching the match. Which kain camouflage be that. The field sucks period
Where una dey watch the match? Plz help with link to watch the match
This Daga is a liability. The coach has to replace him now.
Akanlo Ede, if u don’t know how to read or watch a game pls keep quiet. Daga is one of the best performer so far
That is why Daga is already on a yellow card. He is too rough in tackle. The guy is average.
Brazil need to win or draw, Nigeria don’t need the match except to top the group or for revenge, So the pressure is on Brazil.
Nigeria started long back because if they keep the ball on the grand the samba boys will deal with them. Tactics is needed from our coach.
Nigeria really wasting some chances.their shooting at goal is so weak
Brazil is balling sha…
Brazil attack Nigeria from left and right flank , with croses. Nigeria coach should watch out. This is where you show tactics
Did I not say Nigeria was struggling. Brazil just scored. Woto Woto is loading. This Flying Eagles are playing poorly.
Lol
Where is this Lord AMO person, no be today man pickin dey watch football. I been talk am say Nigeria go collect. This Bosso no sabi a beg.
I’m right here my guy and I stand by everything I said up to the moment we conceded. The Brazilians have taken advantage of our inexperience. We gave up a needless corner and were punished duly, then we started poured ng forward and leaving gaps behind when there is still plenty of game left. Up to that point it was 50-50 but of course Brazil have bossed it in the last 10 minutes of the half.
Lord, leave story a beg. One minute you thrash a world class playing surface then you pretend that the Flying Eagles are not playing thrash.
My guy park well. Nigeria go collect, simple. The lush green pitch is too good for them. Bosso no sabi shishi.
Two things can equally be true, the field sucks (which it does) and eagles can be playing poorly (which they are after a decent start). I never once said the reason they’re not playing well is cos of the field. You made that assumption as well as came up with a bogus reason why the field is the way it is calling it camouflage field which just sounds ridiculous
This person writes like Dr dry. Will not be shocked. And how many did the team collect, with all the noise you making. The playing surface was nothing to write home about, and it was a factor in the way the guys played. All hope is not lost, the knockout stage is any ones game
Listen Lord, I am watching the match from an Ultra High Definition television. This pitch na waya. It is one of the best playing surfaces in the world. The Flying Eagles team are just managing.
Simply stop watching them if you’re not comfortable with their play. Brazil needed that match badly. So what exactly are expecting?
Oboi!!! Lol… Well, we qualified sha
The two wing backs should play to their capability. No need rushing forward when your recovery is not good enough.
Are we not supposed be the one counter attacking as a result of our 3 points advantage going into this last group match? Why is Brazil who is supposed to be chasing the one counter attacking ? Tactical error by the Coach or he simply doesn’t know better .
The game I watched two days ago u people are just watching… is it better beat Brazil and go back home in quarter final or loss to Brazil and get pass the next opponent…but I wish dey play strong against Brazil only … the score it Brazil 2 Nigeria 1 for those that are betting…
Quarter final ke? Na round of 16 be the next stage and that is when they will come home.
Lol. Are you seriously saying you’re some sort of seer or you just make predictions based on stats, permutations, and past records? But you’ve got your projections wrong on several occasions. Keeping fingers crossed sha.
Now dey are third in group.. and dey will meet a group winner … The boys wil want to win at all cost to get to next round…. Hope I wil be telling u the scores. Let see who dey pair next ….the referee had. Nigerian goal in his pocket.he stopped the move .hope u saw.bisse referee.
The absence of Fredrick in that defense is obvious.. bameyi is not covering well..
The midfield is poor, lawal is not playing well same as the strikers
Total rubbish performance from the Eaglets. Can’t string correct passes. Daga is just over hyped, he is playing rubbish, same with lawal. We surely missed fredricks, this yum yum player needs to be benched biko
Why is NIGÈRIA attacking with many players and leaving the back wide open?
Well i think the best approach coming into this game was for the coach to instruct on man marking and counter knowing fully well brazil might be out if they loose the match meaning they will attack and attack. The coach got it wrong. Know they are playing what brazil was playing from the beginning attack attack when we did not need to. I mean just contain and counter that is all.
Is it still possible to teach an old dog new tricks? Make them come house after round of 16!
Pls i need up-to date commentary on this match
Why is the FE playing fast game when they are at advantage?We only need a draw not a win to remain on top of my he table. The Brazilians capitalise on counter attacks and our boys are overwhelmed by the pressure to concede 2 goals in 4minutes. I pray they will be able to comeback only the f they change their pattern of play. They are over respecting the Brazilians. To me, they are not better than our boys they don’t not capitalise on their naitivity and fidgeting during counter attacks
The goalkeeper is poor. The left back is very poor. I hope they can salvage something from this game.
Chop knuckle a beg. That goalkeeper and Daniel Daga are struggling. This boys no too sabi.
Why do we struggle with goalkeepers? Even Gambia produce very good goal keepers.
When Nigeria beat Italy, 90% of people on this forum suddenly forgot the glaring flaws of this team, starting from Ladan Bosso himself and to the kind of players he selected for this tournament. I mentioned that against Italy, it was a case of boys playing against men, and some people said all sort of things, like I don’t know what I’m saying. Today, it is now a case of men against men (because some of those Brazilians are also not under 20) and the real Ladan Bosso flying eagles have been revealed, at least in terms of their quality = skills, technicality, and experience. Today, Brazil has clearly bossed the flying eagles, especially in the mid field and the 2 – 0 scoreline is a testament to this fact.
Daniel Daga has not been upto it in this match and if care is not taken he will get a red card. Before the 2nd goal you could see Eletu telling Bamayi to close down the player that scored but he didn’t have that knowledge or experience. Rather Bamayi rushed towards the Brazilian player with the ball who was being closed down by two other flying eagles players. Before he could retreat to mark the player he should have been closing down, it was too late. This shows the obvious weakness of this team.
Well said comrade. You sabi ball no be small. This Flying Eagles team no sabi, period. Heaven helps those who help themselves a beg.
I appreciate your critical analysis but I see more of tactic and technical problems from the bench as the bane of this team. The boys are trying their best
Don’t mind them…..Some even said he is coming for the super eagles Job……I was cautious in praising Laddan Boxzo because with Nigerian coaches u just never know lol
You were one of the ones praising Bosso. We own you.
LOL….wow! That was a good laugh! Ladan Bosso!
Nigerians are generally bad at clean defending… can’t our midfielders and defenders learn how to slide-tackle and win balls clean. That is the most efficient way to win balls without fouling.
England or Argentina awaits us
Who heard what the commentator said? That Nigeria has ran out of ideas.
As it stand we are 3rd and out, don’t know why you guys been given force info like we through already no
Matter the result of today.
We’ll definitely qualify as one of the best 3rd placed teams
Even that is not sure, Junior.
Nigeria is already, no other 3rd team has 6 points. So just shut your pile hole if you can read the table
So! Of all Nigerian U20 footballers all over the world, these are the best Ladan Bosso could select? To be honest these are not the best Nigeria U20 footballers. This is so disheartening
That is if these ones are u20! The era the chrisantus or iheanacho eagles bossed real under 20 guys have passed. How many of these guys will be in the Super Eagles in say 2026? I no see any long lasting talent for here. Make them come home after round of 16 because “they have run out of ideas”
This team was poor today. From first to third, who does that? I don off my mic.
My team of the tournament is FIJI.
It’s been a tough world cup for them. They don collect taya. 16 goals conceded in 3 matches, no goals scored. But they keep fighting. They keep pushing.
I see you Fiji. Keep your head up!
If it was Nigeria that was in this position, some fans would have mixed otapiapia with kerosene and chugged it down.
Rest my guy. Even Fiji will beat this Nigeria black and blue. Na person wey know, know.
Bro I have concluded you are clown the time you said this horrible looking playing turf is world class. That pitch is horrible
When it comes to quality argument, just admit that I own you.
Why u dey respond to person wey be say na Kerosene he dey use control his TV. ABeg turn off your TV when next dey play.
You too you need to rest baba. Nigeria lost today. They are down, but not out.
Hopefully, the lads will learn from today and do better next time.
FROM THE START OF THE WHISTLE I KNEW WE ARE GOING TO LOSE THIS MATCH. IF WE HAD APLLIED CAUTION IKE WE DID AGAINST ITALY , IT WOULDNT HAVE BEEN THIS WAY. SUDDENLY BECAUSE WE BEAT ITALY BOTH THE COACH AND THE PLAYERS BELIEVE THEY ARE FREE TO BE CARELESS AND THAT IS WHAT MADE THE DIFFERENCE TODAY. APART FROM FITNESS THIS TEAM HAS NOTHING TO OFFER . WE MIGHT BE LUCKY TO SCALE THROUGH TO THE QUATER FINAL
After the fluke win against Italy, these people open their teeth like goat thinking this team has arrived. We own you because of our superior arguments that this team no sabi at all.
Nigerians are hypocrites……Praise when the team is doing well and turn their backs swiftly if the game is disappointing lmaoo….I thought some of you thought Bosso was ripe for the super eagles lol???
THIS TEAM IS NOT GOOD THEY WHERE LUCKY TO BEAT ITALY JUST IMAGINE WHAT THEY PLAYED TODAY
This team is obviously lacking a strong bench. And also we were always second to those lose balls.Woth Nigeria playing far more men high up the pitch, Brazil had a player ready to pounce on free balls/passes at the middle and make direct/runs towards our goal, which always caused panic to our defence. You could easily just see this defeat coming from the onset.
Most people comment here like they are kids. Brazil was going to get a result anyhow, we had the personnel to match them but our boys lost the intention of the match and got careless. All we needed to do was play them with the right mentality, some of our boys are still timid and have fear for the name Brazil. Italy beat them because they don’t have this mentality of being intimidated by opponents. Someone I believe our boys will go off this game knowing there is nobody to be feared anymore. In Africa, Cameroon is the only country that goes into games with the mentality of war… and that’s why they always humble Brazil when they matchup, you have to be wary of their quick counters, and more or less mark them tightly. You don’t let Brazil have space to play their game… Look at how we lost, two goals in 4minutes. Well… Knockout starts now and that’s the real start of hostilities.
You are right on this
Please lets always be realistic. Nigeria did not have the personnel to match Brazil in this match. Is it Njoku or Agbalaka that has the same quality that the Bazilians displayed today? Or ae we going to talk about Samson Lawal and Daniel Daga who could not hold their own in the midfield. Should I even be talking about Bamayi (captain of the team) who obviously could not do his job as a central defender! Is it the kick and purse or police football that Ladan Bosso and the boys played today that stands at par with the personnel that Brazil brought to this match. Abeg make we dey say things as e be o jare.
Well said comrade. Daniel Daga is overrated. He was just shaking like leaf in the midfield.
Merely looking at the formation you don’t need a prophet to tell you that Nigeria would lost the match.
You don’t play 4:5:1 with wounded country like Brazil that has experience coaching crew.
Guys, the team tried. Remember, we hit the bar twice. Brazil were just technically and tactically better. Just the way we were against Italy and Italy were in the first half against Brazil. Let’s appreciate the guys.
The games against Dominican Republic eventually determined positions of the other three teams. The higher your goal margin the higher your position.
There are a lot of good teams in this tournament.
But in all our guys were not too poor the way we have portrayed them.
All the best Flying Eagles.
Nigeria is already through.
Through no be am. Since na 3rd we finish, na either Argentina or USA we go play. We never come house so?
Ori buruku APC is in display and please don’t blame the coach or the players. Nigeria is only good in rigging of elections.
You are free to jump into THIRD MAINLAND LAGOON or alternatively, SNIPER is cheap!
She Dan iska kawai!
The prospect of a third-place finish
While Nigeria aspire for group supremacy, a defeat against Brazil, coupled with a significant victory for Italy over the Dominican Republic, could see the Flying Eagles finish in third place.
This scenario would pit them against either hosts Argentina or the defensively resolute United States. Argentina’s attacking prowess and the United States’ impeccable defensive record in the group stage make either opponent a formidable challenge.
With the stage set for a fascinating clash between Nigeria and Brazil, fans and football enthusiasts eagerly await this monumental encounter. The outcome of this match will not only shape the trajectory of both teams in the tournament but also determine which nation will continue their pursuit of U20 World Cup glory.
There is no point playing your best game in an inconsequential match. I am not too impressed with the guy Eletu… I think the guy Nnadi has more impact in forward play and shows more grit that the Eletu guy. He Eletu, allowed a Brazil run by him to lay as pass leading to the second goal… in my opinion he could have thwarted the Brazil player’s run by timing a slide-tackle. A midfielder who does not know how to screen by slide tackles will always find it hard winning balls… the most efficient way to win balls is clean and safe slide tackle, do that and there is no way an opposing players run or work with the ball won’t be foisted… the sad thing is that, most players don’t really know how to apply the slide tackle… it’s something that has to be learnt early in football development or you can’t ever know how and when to apply it, however, once you are great at it, it becomes second nature and it’s application is spontaneous each time… Flying eagles to need to improve with defending set pieces and how to keep their shape when they attack to avoid falling to quick counters.
I don’t think the problem was Eletu. The real problem was Daga and Lawal in the midfield. They played nothing in that midfield today. To get a better result, a good coach will find ways to play Nnadi and Eletu together. Eletu was the player carrying the ball in the 1st half Daga was more or less cause more problems with his fouls while Lawal was neither here nor there.
Eletu was less than a meter from the Brazil player who slid a pass for the team mate in our 18yrd box to shoot… He could have screened the Brazilian properly.
Go back and watch it, Eletu was literally walking, didn’t close down the player. I will fault him for that goal. Well its over now, we move to next stage
I am of the Opinion that Ebenezer Akinsanmiro is the midfielder we missed in this U-20. Inter Milan were ready to release him on May 15, 2023 but Ladan Bosso couldn’t accept that, yet Michael Eletu who is in actual sense below the level of Akinsanmiro was allowed to still join the team 2days before kickoff. In all honesty, I think he is overhyped and does not know how to win balls, he may be talented but nothing classy to me… Seeing who Ogbelu performed in the AFCON U-20 Qualifiers and he was left out of the final squad for Eletu, Nnadi and Daga, in hindsight I feel that may have been the wrong decision.
In all honesty, I do not rate Eletu above Ogbelu… the latter has a work rate that can even be adjudged to be higher than all the midfielders we took to this world cup. Akinsanmiro would have given an edge that none of the current midfielders can manage, how Bosso will rate Eletu higher than Akinsanmiro surprise me.
It was always possible to take Akinsanmiro, Eletu, Ogbelu, Nnadi and Daga as our core midfielders to the U-20 World Cup. I believe there are two other midfielders that Ladan Bassan took who were not part of the AFCON qualifiers. I see on John and another guy who entered the game late last night. I see no reason why Akinsanmiro was cut because he won’t be able to report to call before May 15, which Inter Milan assured and yet Eletu came in just two days to kickoff against Dominican Republic even at the back of hide-and-sick game with him and his club.
Argentina or the USA awaits us
I knew once we lost, everyone who wanted to say i told u so would come out. U neva gave d team any chance against italy or brazil but they surprised u. We played against italian boys who defeated Brazil men and we won so dat means d brazilian men are no match for the italian boys.
I didn’t catch majority of the match but d small i watched i tit the boys did ok. The coach wanted to give players some toyrnament experience which is gr8. His intention was to get a result from today’s game but unfortunately it didn’t pan out d way he wanted. The players should be commended for dia effort and not this unnecessary criticism, most of these brazilian players are alreafy starters from dia variois teams (senior level club football) and some in elite academies in Europe. Our boys did dia best. I’m hoping we can avoid Argentina due to home advantage and also the team boast one of d most talented array of players assembled. They are very good albeit its been against the likes of Uzbekistan, New Zealand, and Guatemala. None of dis countries are classified as top foitballing nations. As much as i wanted us to avoid dem, they are very beatable. England is not very impressive either. O would rather we play England tho. I only thing i would suggest to Bosso is to return back to his back 4 of *Bameyi-Fredrick-Ogwuche-Agbalaka). Use a mudfield of Nnandi-Daga-Eletu and a forward of Ibeji-Emmanuel-Jude Subday. Tell d 2 full backs to stop dat yseless bombing forward as dia #1 job is defending, they can’t track back after overlapping hence exposing the back. Curb some poor decision making and we will be fine. Brazil was champions of South America so losing against dem isn’t d end of d world. FE pick urselves up, erase dis loss from ur memory and prepare for d next one, we move. Not many countries will fancy dia chances against brazil in any tournament, so losing against dem is no biggie as we weren’t outclassed in any way.
Argentina or USA awaits. These are technically gifted teams so no hope
You said you prefer England.. a team that has over 3 of their top players absent due to club engagement and still top the group.. Hope you know some of the English Star boys will be flying to Argentina for the second round games since the EPL finishes tomorrow
Would u rather Argentina then? I was going by what a commenter said above dat Argentina or England awaits us. So personally i will prefer England to Argentina, dats a personal choice considering the talent of the Argentines so far and home crowd support plus d antics if they should score 1st. England on d other hand plays pretty much like 9ja and i haven’t seenbanything special about dem, maybe d 3 superstars dat will be coming to Argentina will do all d magic, we shall see. As eegards with d potential of meeting d US, dats also a winnable game, they quicked past ecuador (last minute goal), won Fiji and Slovakia so big deal, which of those teams measure up to Italy? Any team in dis tournament will be hoping they can avoid 9ja. That prosoect alone will put fear in dia gearts. Bosso just needs to get d selection right and caution his fullbacks to stop bombing forward if there is nit an appropriate forward. Choke d midfield with ball carriers and lets see what will happen.i can’t beva count a 9ja team out in a tournament. I personally think dis loss is a blessing, the team would’ve been complacent and think they’ve arrived had they won or tied Brazuk but now they know a prospect of a group winner awaits snd they will have to sit up. So lets waut and see who our opponent is and take it game by game.
I hope we learnt important lessons..
Elutu, daga and bameyi cost us this game..
We really miss that fredick guy.. he does a silent job that is only noticed when he is not available..good he was rested because another yellow card for him we make him miss the next game..
Bameyi plays better in the right back position with his long throws that was lacking today..
Daga was disorganized immediately he received that yellow card for a tackle that didn’t worth the card. Probably the thought of getting another yellow to become red was all over his mind..
My greatest problem is why lawal keeps starting games and why sarki doesn’t get to start… This was the same mistake bosso made at the Afcon starting Jude Sunday for the first time in our last game for the third place.. drop the underperforming lawal and bring in nnadi..
Brazil is a top side and we did our best.. I expect a better play when bameyi goes to the right and Fredrick returns.. this team hardly concede when that Fredrick boy plays..
USA or Argentina awaits us, but I think we will likely get the US.. if we were second, it would have been England.. so third for me is better than second..
Yeah. England, Argentina, USA? I will prefer USA. SO third better than second if qet USA and not Argentina.
It looks it’s going to be USA vs NIG in the round of 16. The crux of the matter is Nigeria football needs a holistic revamping, which starts from the administration.
God bless you for your analysis, Bosso had no business pairing bameyi with ogwuche, Let him play his natural position, trust your bench Mr bosso and bring in the other defender, Daga for me is minus one in this tournament, don’t see what he is playing so far. Fredricks was a huge miss, it was very glaring, and ogwuche now has a yellow card to his name. Well all is not lost, we fudge forward, even this Brazilians are not sure of taking this cup. We just collapsed after the first goal.
BTW my man Akanlo Ede, Nigeria will beat Fiji if they had met in this competition. But Fiji will score against Nigeria. Because Nigeria is very generous. We like to donate goals to countries that are just starting out in football. We donated a goal to Tahiti at the Confed Cup. We donated a goal to Dominican Rpublic, their first ever goal at a world cup. We would have generously donated a goal to Fiji also. But we would have beaten them.
We make these donations just to encourage the new teams.
Today, we donated 2 goals to Brazil. Not because Brazil is a new team, but because we love them, and we don’t want them to go home early.
After the hearbreak we caused them at the 1996 Olympics, this is our way of apologizing to them.
Laddan Bosso proved to be the decisive factor behind our defeat in this match. From the outset of our first two games, we witnessed noteworthy performances from players who deserved a spot in the starting lineup. Individuals like Haliru Sarki and Nnamdi demonstrated more than enough skill to earn their place in the first team. Additionally, Fago shouldn’t have been given the starting position over Umeh. However, the coach persisted with this particular selection of players. Another questionable decision was not substituting Daniel Daga after he received a yellow card, leaving him on the field despite the risk.
But why the too many criticism of daga.. have we easily forgotten his previous performances
He is the youngest player in the team and lacks some emotional maturity and experience… That yellow card destabilized him.. the player exaggerated and it resulted to a card to poor daga.. soon after there was a similar exaggerated tackle by another Brazilian boy and daga became more frustrated. Like everything he does seems to go wrong..
Let’s take it easy on the boy .. he is a good player.. playing Brazil is not a joke
We must also commend the coach.. it is better we saved Fredrick for the second round and lose to Brazil than win Brazil and lose your best defender.. it is the group stage and it is not a must you win all matches…
These lose will humble the boys and make them work harder..
But sarki is really a gifted player.. what is that boy doing on the bench?
Is loosing to Brazil mean that Nigeria is out?
Yes naija is coming home early in the morning lol
Now that this match has ended with Nigeria losing 0 – 2 to Brazil, I will make my analysis from the standpoint of history, experience, and Nigeria’s recent football culture or philosophy/ideology
Starting from history, I’ll take us back to Canada 2007. After playing 0 – 0 for 90 minutes, Nigeria conceded 1 goal in the extra time. From the moment the 1st goal was conceded, everything in that match went south. Nigeria started dashing forward in search of equalizer leaving their defense wide open for Chile to counter attack finish the flying eagles.
Funny enough in that 2007 flying eagles match against Chile, it was this same Ladan Bosso that coached the team. He could not fashion out a strategy to salvage that match. Rather his strategy was for his flying eagles to all dash forward in search of goals. The result was a resounding 0 – 4 thumping. I make reference to this match because the same game Ladan Bosso played in 2007 against Chile is what he played today against Brazil and the result ended up being the same i.e. loses – 0 – 4 against Chile and 0 – 2 against Brazil.
It is so sad that after 16 years, the manner of approach to the two matches and the eventual results are one and the same – play kick and follow, without any defined pattern or strategy, be very physical, and dash aimlessly forward when you concede a goal. This is very sad and what does this say about Ladan Bosso. It simply shows that he has not improved himself one bit. Sadly, this is Nigeria, and he may yet be appointed as the super eagles coach!
Looking at experience, this 0- 2 loss against Brazil shows that Ladan Bosso has no coaching experience at whatsoever. Or should I say he has not made effort to improve himself in any way. Or is it that he is incapable of improving himself? As it was against Chile in 2007, so it was against Brazil today. Against Chile in 2007 he needed to apply caution in the extra time after playing goalless for 90 minutes in a quarter final match. But he did not and he lost heavily. Today, Nigeria went into the match against Brazil knowing fully well that they had qualified for the 2nd round and needed only a draw. Rather than play for a draw, Ladan Bosso threw caution to the wings and continued to play the only football he knows – kick and follow, instructing his players to just be dashing forward aimlessly. Rather than play with caution, no he would not. He allowed his boys play to the tempo of the Brazilians. You cannot approach a match using the tempo of your opponent and hope to win. I don’t know what Ladan Bosso was thinking in this match against Brazil.
The display of Ladan Bosso boys so far in this tournament shows that they lack experience. There is no guile, finesse, or technical knowledge in their play. Ladan Bosso himself lacks experience and he cannot give what he does not have. Some of the players were lucky not to get red card against Brazil today.
Now, talking about Nigeria’s recent football culture or philosophy/ideology. It is becoming more and more obvious that Nigeria as a nation at least, in terms of our football administrators, football practitioners (coaches, players, and club owners), and Nigerians themselves, are not ready to do the right things or play by the rules. Age grade football is meant for development and nations that play by the rules of age grade football end up reaping the fruits for decades. Take a look at Argentina’s Messi, Arguero, and Di Maria. Barzil’s Neymar and Fernandinho. Should I even be talking about Spain’s Xavi, Pique, Juan Mata, and Isco? Funny enough whenever Nigeria decides to play by the rules we have never failed to produce real talents or reap the fruits of such decisions for decades. Just take a look at Mikel Obi (from Pepsi academicals), Chinedu Obasi Ogbuke, Wilson Oruma, Victor Ikpeba, Kanu Nwankwo, Victor Osimhen, Taiwo Awoniyi, Samuel Chwukweze Kelechi Iheanacho etc. Things common with these Nigerian players I mentioned is that they all won competitions. From under 17 fifa world cup, to olympic gold medal or bronze, or fifa under 20 silver medal. These players were champions because they were real talents and because they were relatively within the age bracket of the age grade competitions they played in. Some of these players would even go on to win African nations cup and be named African footballer of the year. Just take a look at Victor Ikpeba from Scotland 1989 under 17 to be called “prince of Monaco” and African footballer of the year. How about Kanu Nwankwo from his exceptional talent at Japan 1993 to being named African footballer of the year. These are the rewards of playing by the rules and selecting real talents and players who are actually within the age bracket for age grade competitions.
It is so sad that just like in 2007 and now in 2023, Ladan Bosso decided to take men to an age grade competition. When these same Ladan Bosso boys played the qualifiers in Africa, I said the plyers were overage (I still stand by that statement) and apart from that they don’t even know how to play football. Rather than going for real talents and selecting players who are really within the age bracket, Ladan Bosso decided to take 80% to 905 of the same players to this 2023 under 20 world cup. He only sprinkled the players with few other new players. But his team remained largely the same. How could he think he’ll get a different result from what he got in the qualifiers? Or what result was he, the NFF, and those Nigerians with their nepotism expecting to get with these Ladan Bosso actions.
Apart from not playing by the rules, mepotism – bribery, man-know-man, pay to play, quota system, and neglect of fair play, objectivity, and excellence is certainly the bane of NFF, Ladan Bosso, this flying eagles and those Nigerians who encouraged nepotism in all our national teams.
We as a nation can decide to do the right things as far as football is concerned and reap the fruits or continue down this road of nepotism and not playing by the rules and continue to get heartache, woeful results, and disappointments.
Abeg take it easy on Bosso..
Those Brazilian guys won all their qualifying games in almighty south America qualification..
Many of the Brazilian boys are first team players for their club side..
We were just unlucky that those balls were hitting the cross bar, If they went in we would be praising the coach again..
From what just happened this night in the other groups, it is almost certain Nigeria is playing Argentina in their next game..
Remember Argentina didn’t qualify for this tournament, they are only here because they are the host..
Almighty Senegal is out, even with an easy group, abeg make una leave naija alone
Sometimes I wonder Wetin some people dey smoke before rushing here to comment. Senegal is out despite being African champions. Football at this level is always unpredictable and mostly 50-50. Historically, we’ve never beat Brazil at this level. In fact we’ve never defeated a South American team. We lost today against a desperate opponent and we move on. For me if we meet Argentina anything can happen. Depends on the level of confidence of the boys on that day. Wishing them all the best in the crucial stage of the tournament.
No let them keep smoking there weeds and Colorado. Thought they said Senegal was the new African messiah, they were bundled out in my opinion in one of the easiest group of the tournament. Football is all 50/50 and mother luck. The Brazilian team were just fortunate to capitalize on our sleeping midfielders. Had we kept that first half a draw, it would be a different game in the second half.
I’ll prefer playing the host (Argentina) to USA. Argentina will be under pressure in the knockout stage playing at home, their group is relatively easy and they are yet to test strong team actions unlike Nigeria. When they play stronger teams like England, Italy, Brazil, Nigeria Colombia, Ecuador etc, then i can analyze their strength. USA will be more difficult, they are very good, not playing at home, not under pressure and play freely. To me, USA is one of the favorites for the trophy.
But wait o… The Brazilian No.6 with mustache, that guy no be confirm old man be that? I kind of feel South Americans can also not be trusted with age in tournaments like this… execept my eyes lie to me… I can bet my balls Brazil parade some of the most looking adults in this tournament. Except they naturally grow so fast and older looking…
Thought i was the only one, but yet some people will be calling us age cheats. That guy needs to be investigated, if not people need to keep quiet about Nigeria parading over age players