Following the Super Eagles 1-1 draw with Russia in Friday’s friendly encounter at the Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow, Completesports.com’s ADEBOYE AMOSU appraises the performance of the players…
Maduka Okoye 7/10
Made a number of good saves to help the Super Eagles earn a share of the spoils in the game. He will however need to work on his ball distribution.
Bright Osayi-Samuel 5/10
The right-back had a tough battle keeping the opponents at bay. The defender was at fault for the goal conceded by the Super Eagles.
William Troost-Ekong 5/10
Had a tough day stopping the fast Russian attackers. Not one of his best games for the Super Eagles.
Semi Ajayi 5/10
Unlucky to concede an own goal in the first half. He recovered a bit in the second half after a slow start.
Bruno Onyemaechi 5/10
The left-back was booked in the second half. He was not at his best in the game.
Read Also:Friendly: Arokodare Scores As Super Eagles Halt Russia’s Winning Run In 1-1 Draw
Raphael Onyedika 5/10
The Club Brugge star was caught out of possession a couple of times.
Frank Onyeka 6/10
The midfielder was Nigeria’s best outfield player in the game. A good performance from the Brentford man.
Fisayo Dele-Bashiru 5/10
He was close to equalising for the Super Eagles in the first half. Not a good display from Dele-Bashiru.
Christantus Uche 5/10
The Getafe player started the game strongly but fizzled out afterwards. He was replaced by Olakunle Olusegun 10 minutes from time.
Moses Simon 5/10
The winger failed to live up to expectations in the game.
Victor Boniface 4/10
Another disappointing display from the striker. He was replaced by Tolu Arokodare.
Substitutes
Tolu Arokodare 6/10
The substitute scored Nigeria’s only goal of the game in the 71st minute..
Olakunle Olusegun 3/10
The Krasnodar forward fought hard after replacing Christantus Uche.
Igoh Ogbu
Not rated
16 Comments
Are you kidding me? What sort of rating is this? Thank God I watched the match myself to know that Uche was actually a delight to watch and why blame Osayi for the own goal scored by Ajayi? Una dey whine sha!!! Anyways nice side footed goal by Tolu.
Guess you need to go back and watch the match, he was beaten fair and square for that cross to come in. Maybe you need to go back and watch the game again, he gave up chasing the player. He is just calamity in the team. And how is the goal Ajayi’s fault it came off his leg
Am happy to ready that the entire team was crap. Does Nigeria have to go to the world cup. When will this coach get to understand that Osayi Samuel is a disaster> don’t know who he is paying to be getting called up for games.
@Chima i agree with u on ur observation about Uche . He was so good that as soon as he was taken off the void showed in our midfield. On the otherhand , i disagree with u concerning Osayi, he was at fault for allowing the Rusian winger to over run him , same way Sodiq Ismaila allow the Jamaican winger to overrun for their equaliizer against SE and same way Aina allowed the Ivory winger to over run him before squaring for their winning goal against SE. Dont know how SE will over this recurring defensive anomaliy
@442 fullbacks can be beaten and pull out made by wingers into the box should be dealt with by defenders. Yes Osayi can improve on his performance but he is not the one who cleared the ball into his own net. Been laughing from yesterday when I watch that goal. Semi is not that bad but I still prefer the oghu of Slavia to partner a matured Ben Fredricks flanked by our regular fullbacks and midfield. There are lots of positives as negatives in the match against Jamaica. I will dwell on the positives and hope that we do better with these two in future. Semi I needs a better club to grow and Ekong don age it’s time to vamos.
In my opinion the best player on the pitch was Onyedika. You could see that he’s levels above other. The UCL experience showed clearly. Calm, composed and all. Others that played well were Onyemachi, Dele-Bashiru and Onyeka
So let me get this straight: Uche Christantus, Frank Onyeka, Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, and Cyriel Dessers had to wait until friendly matches — yes, glorified test runs — to prove their worth to the new coach. But Papa Daniel and his NPFL compatriots were parachuted straight into the main team for crucial World Cup qualifiers against Rwanda and Zimbabwe? No testing, no scrutiny, no prior evaluation — just a wild card to wear the green and white in two of our most important games in recent years?
Only in a football ecosystem crawling with nepotism, corruption, and poor decision-making does that sort of thing happen without consequences. The result? Nigeria, with all our talent, is now trailing South Africa by 4 points with just two matches to go. That’s not just poor planning — that’s football suicide in slow motion.
Let’s not pretend: if Onyeka and Uche had been in that midfield against Rwanda and Zimbabwe, with the energy, intensity and purposefulness I saw in Brentford and Moscow— instead of being left out for someone still learning the ropes — we probably wouldn’t be where we are now. If Dessers had even been paired with or subbed in for Osimhen — or better yet, started in his absence, with the the passion, directness and attacking instinct I was of him at the Unity Cup— we might have seen a very different scoreline in those matches. Because the truth is, those players showed during this international break that they’re miles ahead of the ones selected ahead of them. And I do hope now that our Table Soccer Technical Adviser, Austin Eguaveon, has now clearly seen Cyiel Dessers, a player he stated he didn’t know in 2021, despite the latter’s exploits then at Feynoord both in Eredivisie and Europe. It’s so unbelievable that Dessers with 3 goals in 8 games for the SEs is yet to play a competitive match for the team, not even in AFCON or World Cup qualifiers, not to talk of an actual competition like the AFCON. Yet, Sodiq Umar, with zero goals and zero assists since his debut has played in all of these competitions.
But here we are. Why? Because common sense isn’t so common in Nigerian football decision-making.. Because people in power are still playing God with selections, rewarding mediocrity, and allowing politics, agents, and ego trips to sabotage national interest.
Let’s be honest — this international window exposed everyone. From the NFF to the technical crew, it was clear: we are NOT short of talent. We are short of courage and honesty to make the right calls. And every time we choose untested loyalty over form and readiness, we dig ourselves deeper into the pit of underachievement.
Let this be said clearly: the way these untested players got straight call-ups to crucial qualifiers, while genuinely better players were sidelined until “friendly games,” is nothing short of a national sporting embarrassment. It’s tactical malpractice. And it’s why, despite all our raw talent, we keep bottling golden chances on the international stage.
Until we fix this madness, Nigeria will keep being “Potential FC” — talented but tragic. Capable but chaotic. Blessed but broken.
The sad part? It’s not the players failing the nation; it’s the system. Always the system.
Great submission @Papafem but Sadiq Umar did score at the afcon. However, your point is very valid, the problem with Nigeria are Nigerians. What is alhassan yusuf doing in the team ahead of onyeka and uche ?? The reason they clamour for the inclusion of homebased players is so they can line their pockets from player sales. Why is Ojo Olorunleke suddenly surplus to requirement? They have been shouting this Papa Daniel for some time now but eleven sub par leagues in Eastern Europe do not want to take such bait and I guarantee you that the day he is sold abroad , you will never see him again in the SE.
Chelle did not use a single homebase player to prosecute the Russian friendly because he knows they will be slaughtered. The foreign pros were seriously struggling with the high physical and pressing game. One thing Chelle found out is that press pass press.
Excellent submission as is usually the case..!
Meanwhile,what you see happening in our football management today,is exactly the same experience everyday in our politics and ecosystem because a healthy ecosystem fosters or allows for faster innovation and growth..But we are maimed by politics of nepotism,quota which is a big disease killing the country so this thing is a system,it’s a nigerian thing it’s everywhere it’s a virus chronic and immedicable,and some of us supports this pandemic because of tribalism and other selfish interests yet,in other ways e.g sports it comes to bite us hard,so there’s no escape to this backwardness that has been institutionalised..We’re people with diverse opinions,regressive mindsets,people lacking foresight or intellectual insight.
It’s a shame we have to live this way knowing merit will always come short and our football will never get any justice because it’s one bad administration to another which is always worse than it’s predecessors.Sunday Dare is a minister in the new dispensation after leading the plot of the sack of Gernor Rohr one of our best managers of all time,yet getting the nod by the new government after a terrible job in the last government speaks volume of the decay in the institution.
We know Chelle will never have a free hand to do his job,NEVER!Not a country like Nigeria where we have many Oga’s calling the shot! We may as well have kissed the world cup goodbye and sadly,these Oga’s are politicians who aren’t even bothered with what happens to our football.
We just pray and hope for a better tomorrow not just for football but in politics,in the economy and the society!May God bless Nigeria…
It’s such a shame, @Papafem. True, we’re languishing in 4th place after 6 matches (a massive 11 points thrown away, thanks to Finidi and Paseiro), mainly because our best legs were left out.
Imagine Uche Christantus, Frank Onyeka, Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, and Cyriel Dessers being active in all or most of the 5 matches. Even Osimhen wasn’t available for 4 of the matches, and as soon as he was there, he scored all 3 goals to hand SE 4 points.
But let’s take solace in the fact that SA will be docked 3 points, bringing their total to 10 and 3 ahead of Nigeria. So, if we beat them at home, we’ll both be tied at 13 points (assuming they won their other match).
But I don’t understand the delay with FIFA doing the needful as regards the 3 points deduction. Once executed, we just must make sure these players are called up for the last 2 matches in August/September and the miracle will definitely happen.
– Osimhen
– Dessers
-Lookman
-Iwobi
– Uche Christantus
– Chuwkueze
– Simon
– Frank Onyeka
– Fisayo Dele-Bashiru
– Ndidi
– Iheanacho
– Ola Aina
-Calvin Bassey
Plz remove iheanacho, Simon
These players has nothing to offer anymore.
Your list wuld have make sense if you didnt put in Iwobi and iheanasho inside – istead you haf to added Aribo and Felix , call up Orban and a few more whish I cant remeber right now but anyway sha..
Bro, @Ken, do you even know my biggest pain in all of this? Let’s even say, for the sake of argument, that they must play their politics—it’s Nigeria after all—but must it be during crucial World Cup qualifying matches? Matches we desperately needed to win, bro! This was not the time to experiment or pamper sentiments. We should have sent our best of the best—war-tested gladiators with unshakable experience—to go to war and fight for the pride of a whole nation. That’s what any serious country, any sane footballing nation in our position, would have done without blinking.
Just imagine if we had taken maximum points in those two qualifiers. We would’ve trimmed South Africa’s lead in the group to just four points. And let’s even dream a little—if FIFA eventually docks South Africa three points for illegally fielding Aron Mokoena against Lesotho in the previous round, then boom! SA would be sitting top of the group with just a one-point heading into the final round. That would’ve flipped a little bit of pressure onto them, not just us. We could be playing with a little bit of confidence in that final showdown in Johannesburg with renewed optimism because let’s face it, anything can happen out there. The script would’ve changed entirely.
Tell me, didn’t these people in charge do the math before sending invites? What kind of warped thinking made them pick Papa Daniel, Umar Sadiq, and Yusuf Abdullahi ahead of guys like Frank Onyeka, Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, Cyriel Dessers, and Chrisantus Uche? It’s as if excellence has been pushed aside and mediocrity now wears the crown. These men thought it wise to throw players with average potential into *competitive* matches, yet kept the ones who have proven themselves—who’ve actually earned their stripes—on ice, waiting to be checked out in friendlies. Make it make sense, please. Is that not madness?
Bro, watching Chrisantus Uche, Onyeka, and Raphael Onyedika ball against Russia, I swear, I didn’t miss Ndidi one bit. They ran that midfield like veterans. The balance, the confidence, the decision-making—it was so on point, I had to remind myself we were watching a so-called second-string midfield. Then there’s Dessers—chai! The energy, the intelligence, the pressing, the hold-up play—it was everything we missed when Osimhen wasn’t available during the firdt 4 qualifiers. So you mean to tell me this guy wasn’t good enough to lead the line then, but somehow, Umar Sadiq, —who practically ghosted and left the AFCON camp unceremoniously—was?
Let’s not lie to ourselves, @Ken. What the NFF is doing is beyond football. To them, promoting the local league—even when it’s not ready—and using national team invitations to fulfill some twisted form of “federal character,” especially with the North at the center, matters more than getting a World Cup ticket or upholding national pride. Excellence is now secondary. It’s no longer about who is best or who can deliver—it’s about who fits into their selfish, greedy agenda. And in the end, the whole country bleeds for it.
These greedy, unpatriotic demons in the corridors of our administration, be it football or education, health or security, are dragging us backwards with their wickedness and incompetence. If we continue like this, they will destroy every strand of hope before our children even get a chance to dream. Walahi, it’s heartbreaking. We have the talent. We have the passion. We have the numbers. But we don’t have leaders who genuinely want Nigeria to succeed. And that, my brother, is the real tragedy.
We can only siddon look
Please leave Papa Daniel out of these. After all, he was invited “on merit” ahead of Onyeka and Chrisantus after shining against relegated Sunshine Stars…..LMAOOoo…only for the coach to chain him to the bench because “he needed more exposure”.
And how did he fare at the Unity Cup?……yanked off after 45 minutes…..LMAoo
Even Eguavoen, the TD of NFF, the loudest advocate of home-based players, ignores them whenever he’s on that SE seat……LMAOooo. It’s only when he’s backstage that he sings that home-based invitation song while claiming not to know the highest-scoring Nigerian striker in European competitions that season. That man is a proper politician masquerading as a technical advisor.
As the saying goes, even a madman looks both side before crossing a busy road……LMAOoo.
I am just happy this unity cup settled that debate for good for the time being. Quality has no hiding place…..LMAOooo….while I’ve heard Chelle sing the praises of the likes of Fredricks, Uche and Agu, gatecrashers who didn’t need 5 invites to stake a genuine claim for a place in the SE, I’m yet to hear him sing praises of any of the legion of home-based players he took to London. At least no one can accuse him of not giving home-based players a chance
They have achieved what they wanted to achieve with Papa Daniel – use international call-ups to get him a transfer after failing several trials in the backwaters of Europe and North Africa. Can they now please allow Chelle to do is job….?
There are levels to the game of football……only those who are proven at the highest levels should be allowed to wear our colours at the highest level.
Right now, our best legs from both friendlies and regulars are
Goal keeper: Okoye/Nwabil
Defenders: Aina/Frederick – Ajayi/Ekong – Bassey/Ogbu – Felix Agu/Bruno
Midfielders: onyedika/Bashiru @6 – Onyeka/Ndidi @4 – chukwueze/Iwobi @10
Forwards:
Lookman/Tella @7 – Osimhen/Tolu @9 – Dessers/Uche @8
I tire oh… You wrote all these and still included Iheanacho… Lol Naija sha.