Super Eagles trio of Joe Aribo, Leon Balogun and Calvin Bassey were in action as Rangers book a place in the final of the Europa League after overcoming RB Leipzig in the semi final on Thursday, Completesports.com reports.
Bassey, who was making his 12th appearance in the colours of Rangers, has made one assist at the competition.
He was solid at the back and prevented Dani Olmo and Yussuf Poulsen from creating any dangerous threat for the visitor.
The host started with intent as captain James Tavernier opened the scoring early on to become the leading scorer in the competition this season with seven goals. Glen Kamara added a second before the half-hour mark in a game dedicated to legendary Rangers kit man Jimmy Bell, who died earlier this week.
Read Also: ‘Madrid Have No Right To Be In Champions League Final’ —Man United Legend, Schmeichel
Christopher Nkunku then levelled the tie for Leipzig in the second half, but Lundstram smashed home the winner in the 81st minute.
On the other hand, Aribo was started the game at the middle of the pack, had a decent performance as he constantly probed the RB Leipzig defence.
It was his 14th appearance and has bagged three assists in the process.
He was later substituted in the 45th minutes for Fashion Sakala.
While Balogun came on as a substitute for Ryan Jack 59th minute to dd more steel to Rangers defence.
In all, the Nigerian international has scored two goals in nine appearance for Rangers in the competition.
Rangers To Face Eintracht Frankfurt In Final
Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s men will meet Eintracht Frankfurt in Seville on 18 May with a tantalising chance to win the club’s first European trophy for 50 years.
Big Facts
- RB Leipzig are just the fifth side in the Europa League since 2009-10 to be eliminated in the semi-finals despite winning the first leg after Benfica in 2010-11, Sporting CP in 2011-12, Fenerbahce in 2012-13 and Villarreal in 2015-16.
- Giovanni van Bronckhorst has become the first Dutch manager to reach the final of the Uefa Cup/Europa League in charge of a non-Dutch side since Dick Advocaat in 2008, whose Zenit St Petersburg side faced Rangers in that year’s final, winning 2-0.
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COMMENTS
UCL Final – Liverpool vs Real Madrid
David Olatokunbo Alaba (Foreign Born)
UEL Final – Eintracht Frankfurt vs Rangers
Joe Ayodele Aribo (Foreign Born)
Calvin Ughelumba Bassey (Foreign Born)
Leon Aderemi Balogun (Foreign Born)
UECL Final – Roma vs Feyenoord
Tammy Oghenetega Abraham (Foreign Born)
Cyriel Kolawole Dessers (Foreign Born)
But some racists and xenophobes and their online dogs feel these boys are not good enough and not Nigerian to play for their fatherland and should be ostracized from the Super Eagles.
Nigeria is indeed a sick country…!
Imagine. Rather than blame their useless bus conductor/cobbler colleagues masquerading as coaches who failed twice in 3 months, the useless people whose relevance to Nigerian football has long expired decades ago, heaped all the blame on foreign borns….as if it wasn’t the same foreign borns Rohr was using to succeed with flying colors
How many of their so-called homebased/homegrowns that they want to foist on us, are playing at the level of competition these boys are playing in week-in week-out, that they should now be denied their right to play for their fatherland….?
How many countries in Africa will have these many eligible players playing at such top levels and say it is some yeye homebased that cant reach group stages of CAF competitions they want to populate their national team with…? Even Egypt is currently using for of their homebased players at the moment because they cant boast of 10 players playing top flight football in the whole of Europe. They year they can boast of as many as 23 Europe-based players, I bet you’ll start struggling to see Egyptian league players in their national team.
It just goes to show you the nation’s football is in the wrong hands. France never won anything until they changed their policy and started using players born of other descent. Senegal never attained success until they changed policy and started using foreign born nationals. Their goal keeper is a clear example, Mendy at Leicester is another. Yet they lifted the afcon.
Mahrez from Algeria was born in France but switched to Algeria and Algerian went on to win afcon 2019. He is not alone, benarahma is another. The entire Algerian squad that won the afcon was littered with foreign born players but the leadership of NFF arrived at the shocking decision that the Foreign born players are the reason for our failure, what balderdash!
The reason for our failure was very clear, Eguavoen fell short and was outsmarted, outmanouvered and outclassed by a Dortmund scout( you read right, a scout). In addition, the failure to find a reliable goal keeper and the sentimental invitation of players are other reasons for failures. These are the reasons we failed but rather than address these issues we embark on this senseless pursuit of creating a quota system for local players and place restrictions on the inclusion foreign born players and vilify them.
Nigerian football is set to plummet due to these medieval ideology. My warning and advice to progressive fans is to avoid being too invested in the SE. My 2 cents.
@Dr Drey, well said. The same way the racists in Elder Odegbami and Amokachi got rid of Rohr, they have decided to swoop on our foreign born stars. Those guys won’t stop until they return us to where we were pre-Rohr.
What saddens me most is the fact that a section of SE fans that danced to the ‘Oyinbo Wall’ tune later came back to dance to the racist tune played by Odegbami and Amokachi and I dare say SHAME to such fans. Hosanna today, crucify him tomorrow type of fans.
A very sick and wicked country were people who do well and have excelled are not celebrated rather mediocres are celebrated congratulations to #balogun#aribo#bassey shame on amokachie double shame on Paul bassey remaining Shane to amaju pininick and and his cult lead Nigeria football federation.
I think our problem is having too much regards for 94 eagles in the sense that we have somehow allowed them to play upon our emotional attachment to them because of their performance.
Whenever any members of that team talks even NFF will stand still like as if it was god.
They are the one clamouring for local caoch they are the same local coach. They are the one condeming foreign born players and always quick to critizise them.
They are coach agents always looking for how to cash in on se by forecfully injecting worthless homebase players to se.
They creat mafia in their time in se before rohr brake it completely.
What else should I say?
But don’t be surprised when some people still come out to talk about experience as the reason Musa, Collins and Ighalo should be in the team ahead of Bassey and Dessers.
@sean musa and ighalo time is very limited in se, hence no cuase for alarm.
What is on the table is the blame being put on foreign born players as the reason why egu fails.
Shying away from poor tactics and wronged time sack of Rohr.
Point of correction in a normal and sane society we shouldn’t be talking of Musa and Ighalo time being limited in SE we should be talking about his time being OVER!!!!…. In another stance Nigeria lost 2022 right from AFCON. AFCON should have being used to Blend our World Cup Qualifying champion Victor Moses and Players like Bassey, Lookman, Akpoguma and Dennis in to AFCON and SE with the latter being out of Egu control this coupled with the fact that Osimhen and Balogun and Etebo was injured didn’t do us any good because come World Cup Knock out the team would have had good cohiesion Nigeria was destined to fail because of poor man management sentiment and Quota system.
When Nigeria learns that you cannot go anywhere with corruption in life the better the SE and what we are getting is a direct reflection of the state of this country.
What I expect is to start building our team against the future. Another World Cup comes in the next for years so I don’t expect Musa or Ighalo or Shehu or Balogun (even though still trying) and Omeruo to still be having limited times in Super Eagles. That’s a waste of spaces.
Yusuf Hass already said that Musa and Ighalo are still relevant so I know what I’m saying.
Wow, guys we have got a serious talent in our hands,we are lucky he didn’t show his potential to this level earlier. this lad bassey is a mixture of arnold and koulibaly, technique and physicality, still rough but the possibilities are scary, work horse, tonight he played midfield, leftwingback, leftback and cd, he prediction was elite, nff get a coach with good tactics, tactics that would stop making our elite players look back.
*look bad
*look bad
Those people are still here ho, egu preacher, NFF mouth piece,home base marketer,anti foreign born players, let us fail with our own, 94 se associate, and Rohr haters.
They are still very much at helm of affairs ho.
Just watch the caliber of players that will be invited for afcon qualifier.
Like I said before noo defender in SE currently can compete with Bassey people saying he was not good in Ghana game he was the best player behind Onyeka and Osimhen.. When Onyeka got injured and he (Bassey) got taking off in Second leg we lost the game Period.
Well said Brodaman @Ugo. Bassey is a God sent. He is the best, forget the rest. All these jingoistic commentators are not serious. We will win the Afcon next year under the right coach. Heaven bless Bassey and all deserving Super Eagles foreign born players.
@Ugo Iwunze… Which Onyeka? One thing I don’t like about is support an Igbo boy whether less than average. Same Onyeka in whose front Thomas Partey, a midfielder like him scored the back-breaker against Nigeria? Onyeka should not be getting callup just like Shehu where we have Obinna Nwobodo and Kingsley Michael.
When a Moldovan club Sheriff Tiraspol defeated Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu earlier in this season’s UCL, whoever thought Madrid will end up in the Final…?
When an unknown Norwegian club Bodo/Glimt hammered Mourinho and is AS Roma team 6-1 earlier in this season’s UECL, whoever thought Roma will end up in the Final…?
When Arsenal started this season bottom of the EPL table after 3 games with 3 loses, 0 points, 0 goals, whoever thought they will be almost guaranteed to be in the UCL by May 2022…??
This is a lesson that teams turn the corner.
A team may be experiencing a blip, but so far they are not down and out, they do turn the corner.
We lost against CAR, thanks to a blooper in our defence, and all the haters of Nigerian football who have been looking for every means to get rid of the man they hate most in their lives went to town baying for blood and cooking up all sorts of fallacies that we are in decline and in a state of disaster, even when we were comfortably sitting on top of our group.
Despite all the internal sabotage the team was being subjected to, the team was still holding forth until they got the job done and reached the playoffs. But some gluttons and day light petty thieves who wanted to reap where they have not sown ganged up, wiped up dirty sentiments, shared brown envelopes to pressmen and eased out the man who was helping us keep our football ship afloat on the stormy seas we ourselves created, when he really didnt have to, given that our own twitter guadiola jumped ship when he was in a less stormy situation a few years before, without looking back.
God has a way of giving everyone his just rewards. And I say it serves them right…..YES, I REPEAT, It serves them right that we eventually got ourselves rubbed in the muddy waters of failure twice within the space of 3 months.
It serves the NFF right that if been failure after failure and financial loss after financial loss ever since, 1st losing out of up to $20m in prize monies, then having to pay Rohr his salary for 13 months to chill in his beach front hotel in France, plus the extra $m FIFA will soon order them to pay to Rohr, plus the fine for the pitch invasion in Abuja……not to talk of budget shortfalls that will arise now that the SE wouldnt be in Qatar.
It serves the pressmen who sold their conscience for brown envelopes…I hope those brown envelopes will sustain them now that the SE wouldnt be at the world cup…..LMAOooo. Most sports websites nowadays no longer have anything to publish….even CSN sometimes now looks like a ghost town…..LMAOoo. Adverts, Exclusives, Features, endorsements, coverage of SE matches and WC preparations, reader traffic, patronage etc…..ALL GONE. All because of long throat. Serves them right.
Serves all the hungry player agents masquerading as ex-international, ex-94 squad, ex-this, ex-that, right. Serves them all right. Except a few elite ones like Osimhen and co, watch as the market value of their mediocre home-based, home-grown players will begin to drop now. They became part-time CSN staff for months, granting shallow ‘exclusive’ interviews every week, spewing all sorts of lies and campaign of calumny as if any of them could do half as good as Rohr, as they say in local parlance…lamboroki, oju re ja. Yokolu yokolu, ko wa tan bi, Iyawo gb’oko san’le oko yo’ke…??? SERVES THEM RIGHT.
And to their online dogs here on CSN, please stand up and be counted. For being a bunch of sheepish blind fools, who lack insight, hindsight and foresight. Please do well to tell your children and grandchildren that it was you who brought upon them, the curse of pain and anguish that they are suffering, by your contribution to Nigeria’s non-qualification for the world cup in the year 2022. SERVES Y’ALL RIGHT.
Its just a pity that these young boys wouldnt have a taste of the WC for the first time in 2022. But since the foreign borns are using their real ages, they are more likely going to be around in 2026 than the ones whose ages we cant vouch for.
Its just a pity that we let the racism, hatred, jealousy and gluttony of some people dictate our path to disaster, forgetting that those 3 things have never yielded any positive outcomes since the beginning of time.
They chased Rohr away thinking they have won…..LMAOOo. The man is about to be earning double salaries now after being named as coach of Mali, if all things continue the way they are at the moment. They should submit their own empty and tattered CVs to other countries and see if they will even get shortlisted……LMAOOooo.
If Rohr were that good, why has he not gotten another job yen yen yen yen yen……within 6 months, he has been linked to 2 countries…..LMAOooo…..God is about to tie their lying, serpentuous tongues once again. There are some guadiolas who never get linked to any other jobs except NFF jobs in their entire lives…..LMAOOooo.
Please does anybody know where the houseboy called Joseph Yobo who was sent to start the internal sabotage in the SE is now…?? Has he now graduated as a coach after spending 2 years being a ball boy in SE camp, rather than going to attach himself with Everton, Fenerbache or any of his former clubs (like serious ex-internationals do) while pursuing his UEFA coaching classes….??? His mates are the Ghanaian coaches who came to outwit him and his outdated bosses for the WC ticket on home soil o. Since the likes of Anyasi and other club owners said he is qualified to be a coach with his 100 caps, why have they not absorbed him into the technical crews of their clubs….LMAOooo
They said they wanted to avert disaster…..LMAOooo. And wow, did they not do a damn good job for that matter. Never in our lives again will we gang up against a just man.
You cant bring a man down with subjectivity and outright lies…..it will always backfire….you will always end up with eggs on your face. If you want to bring a man down, bring him down with the truth, hard facts and figures, fairness, and objectivity across board.
After their colossal failure, they now started looking for whom to sacrifice and guess what…..its the foreign borns who are playing at levels their homebased/homegrown are struggling to reach that they chose to throw under the bus so save face…..LMAooo. Moses Simon who failed to bury a 1-on-1 in Kumasi was born and raised in London. Frank Onyeka and Francis Uzoho who failed to stop Partey’s shot were both born and raised in California and Texas respectively. Osimhen who chose to bicycle-kick a ball in front of him in the direction he was facing was born in Amsterdam. Egua-failure and his 9 thieves who didnt know that Foreign born Ghanian coaches had changed tactics at the start of the 2nd half were born in France, Canada and Australia.
If not for the foreign born Ademola Lookman who won a penalty and foreign born Troos-ekong who buried the penalty, Egua-diola would have been stuck on his ancient table soccer tactics for 270 minutes without getting a goal, and common sense wouldnt have told him to change it….oh…my bad….”I cannot change tactics in the middle of a match/tournament”….so says the man who is the Technical Director of Nigerian football.
Woe betide local coaches and Nigerian football if Eguavoen remains on that seat of TD for much longer.
I am bewildered Amaju and his board still have a job. They should have been forced to resign by now since they’re egoistically corrupt to do so on their own.
Everyone knows; the major problem of Nigerian football is the present FA.
But I digress;
It’s quite baffling that this “so called” ex internationals and administrators lack the self awareness to see how blighted they’re by racism and Xenophobia. They are lost to the fake notion that blacks can’t be racist.
To live a lie blaming the foreign boys for whatever happened against Ghana rather than their own failed coach Eguavoen is pure madness; simply put, Evil!
But I am glad. It is good to see that most Nigerians see them for who they are and totally ignore them. Their classless , inept and corrupt buffonery should continue to be ignored.
The irony in all of this is that they criticize foreign born players and make a case to limit their inclusion into the SE team but then at the same time they are planning to have a foreign born coach! You couldn’t write this, it is just crazy.
These lot are the most insincere, unpatriotic and clueless people at the helms of Nigerian football. They are opting for a Foreign coach because they believe they are more competent and knowledgeable than their local counterpart. How is this rule is discarded when selecting players?? How do you create one rule for one and another rule for others?? The answer is that they have an agenda.
The reason why we are backward as a race is not by accident but by the mindless sentiments we hold on to. Meritocracy gives way to mind numbing sentiments. There is a reason why Oyinbo will continue to progress even 1000 years from now and that is because they practice meritocracy devoid of sentiments. Why should any sound thinking person be discussing about a quota system for local players?? Check out countries that have won the world cup, i doubt if there is such a policy. Aren’t these the teams we should emulate and copy so we can attain the same level of success?
Success is a function of wisdom and wisdom is simply doing the right thing. If we continue to do the wrong things, embracing folly, the end result will always be failure.
With this set of boys, no Team in Africa should be beaten Nigeria. Three players in a team from the same country representing front line midfield and defence is MASSSIVE !!!