Former Black Stars of Ghana striker Asamoah Gyan has named the Super Eagles among the favourites to win the title at 2025 Africa Cup of Nations,reports Completesports.com.
The Super Eagles will be looking to win a fourth title in Morocco in December.
Nigeria lost 2-1 to the Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire in the final of the last edition of the competition.
Gyan believed they can claim the title this time around. Meet the god of casino.
Read Also:Super Eagles Move To 38th Position In Latest FIFA Ranking
“Nigeria did well, they were close last two years,” Gyan said on the sidelines of the 2025 CAF Awards in Rabat, Morocco.
“Cote d’Ivoire did well, so we have a lot of teams.Morocco are also strong contenders who are also doing well.
“I will say these three teams I mentioned – Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire and Morocco are favourites.”
The Super Eagles are drawn in Group C with Tanzania, Tunisia and Tanzania, and Uganda.
They will face the Taifa Stars of Tanzania in their opening fixture in Fez on Tuesday, 23 December.
By Adeboye Amosu
36 Comments
With this coach that did not know what to do to regain control of the midfield for more than 70 minutes against a side that wasn’t even a top 10 side in Africa…..??
As they say in local parlance……you dey whine…???
I agree with you about his inefficiency with the porous midfield. But let us give the Chelle his flowers, his team had the best result in the group stage and based on stats, he could have qualified the tean for the WC without the playoff.
No doubt that he is better that Rohr technically and tactically.
1. Chelle has a better winning ratio than Rohr. He is yet to loose a match , 6 wins and 4 draws (including the invitational competition)
2. Chelle won the only competition he has participated while Rohr won an AFCON bronze, but Pesseiron won AFCON silver.
3. Chelle defeated Rohrs Benin 4 nil
4. Chelle’s team has not conceded more than a goal during normal regulation.
5. Chelle’s team is the only team to have won consecutive away matches in more than a decade.
I believe Chelle has learnt few lessons about the goofy nff and the expiref players in the team.
Lets support him
Hehehehehe…..they have come again, the Liars united who have lied Nigerian football aground for 5 years now. Our non qualification for 2 WCs back to back is still a ripple effect of their lies. and the ghost of the lies they told about Rohr is still haunting them till date……LMAOooo
Chelle’s team had the best results in the group stage…….LMAOooo….the same group stage where Morocco had 8 wins out of 8 and qualified for the WC with 3 games to spare……???
The same group stage where Tunisia won 9 and drew 1 out of 10 and didn’t concede any goal throughout, qualifying with 2 games to spare….??
The same group stage where CIV won 8, drew 2 out of 10, and never conceded a goal….???
Is this one drunk on lies……LMAOooooo.???
“…..Give Chelle his flowers, his team had the best result in the group stage and based on stats…..”
Waht rubbish stats is this one taling about……LMAOooo….points, goals scored or goals conceeded….???
Best result in the group stage my foot…..LMAOOoo.
Bar the once-off against Benin, your Chelle’s team struggled to defeat teams ranked below 100 on FIFA rankings……LMAOooo. 1-0 vs Rwanda, 1-1 vs Zimbabwe, 2-1 vs Lesotho.
Again, bar the once off 2-1 win over an understrenght Ghana, he has been unable to defeat any team ranked above 80 in the fifa rankings in regulation time…..1-1 vs South Africa, 1-1 vs Gabon, 1-1 vs DR Congo, 1-1 vs Russia, 2-2 vs Jamaica. In 4 out of these games we needed goals that were technically or tactically not of his making.
Chelle is yet to lose a match……LMAOooo….I guess it was his statue that was on the bench when we were humiliated at CHAN…….LMAOoooo
Liars what to hide the truth that we have all been part of. I just checked Chelle’s score card again and it reads:
14 matches played, 8 wins 3 draws and 3 losses which will be a 57% win ratio
In IFFHS records it will read 14 matches played, 6 wins, 4 draws and 2 losses (extra time and penalties are regarded as tie-breakers when a winner MUST be determined if the game ended in a draw) and that will be a 43% win ratio
Anyone who did basic statistics in school and passed on his own without cheating will know that a 52% win ratio in 54 matches is a better performance that a 57% win ratio in 14 matches.
Even AI confirms that by saying: “…..While the 57% win ratio looks impressive, the sample size is much smaller (14 matches). The 52% win ratio has more wins overall (28) and is based on a larger sample size (54 matches), making it a more reliable indicator of performance. So, technically, the 52% win ratio in 54 matches is a better scorecard…..”
And if we want to even be more forensic and balance the scores 14 games to 14 games:
Rohr’s first 14 games: 9 wins, 3 draws and 3 losses which will be a 64% win ratio
Chelle’s first 14 games: 8 wins 3 draws and 3 losses which will be a 57% win ratio
So dont go about disgracing yourself and whoever wasted money in sending you to school in public with your Chelle has a better winning ratio than Rohr lies.
Despite inheriting a Nigerian team ranked 70th in the world, Rohr didnt play teams below 100 in FIFA rankings in his first 14 games like this malian touareg whose image you are trying to launder…….LMAOoooo. About 80% of the teams ROhr played in his first 14 games were higher than 70th position on the FIFA ladder yet he garnered 64% win ratio. Your chelle is yet to defeat any team ranked above 80 at the moment where there was not extra time, bar that understrength Ghana we played in London…..LMAOooo
The FIFA graded competitions Chelle has participated in are the CHAN and WC Africa playoffs and he was disgraced out of both…..i dont know which other FIFA approved competition your Chelle has participated in. If you do kindly let us know…..LMAOooo. Desperate liars want to elevate unity cup, an exhibition tournament played every 20 years, to the status of a graded tournament……LMAOooo. Our FIFA rankings even dropped after winning the Kangaroo plaque that was awarded, unlike our current rankings that rose even after losing the playoffs……LMAOooo
Chelle’s team is the only team to have won consecutive away matches in more than a decade…..LMAOooo…..you must have been in Comma when we won Liberia and CAR consecutively away from home as recently as 2021…….LMAOoooo. And I am even struggling to recall the consecutive away matches Chelle won……please kindly remind us…….LMAOooo
Oh yes, Chelle defeated Rohr’s Benin 4-0……of course he did because the players knew it was a match they needed to score 4 times, and against a team of mostly 2nd, 3rd, Beninoise league and clubless players, Osimhen took it upon himself to rise to the occasion. Rohr however put 4 past then AFCON defending champions Cameroon at a time when it wasnt compulsory or needed.
So go and shove your ” ….he is better than Rohr technically and tactically….” fallacy down the sewers. No team below Nigeria in FIFA rankings ever siezed the midfield from us under Rohr for 95 minutes without him looking clulessly at thin air, unable to act or regain control.
Your Chelle has failed to qualify for the World cup. PERIOD.
Its even worse off that he FAILED when several chances presented itself. If we had won Zimbabwe at home, we would have qualified…….If we had won SA in bloemfontein knowing 3 points was about to be deducted from SA, we would have qualified……we were smuggled into the playoffs under controversial circumstacnes and he still failed there too. Meanwhile ALL the teams we were playing have been way below us in rankings and barely in the top 10 in Africa.
Chelle is a FAILURE who shouldnt be allowed near the SE heading to AFCON if we had a functional NFF…..he has FAILED to qualify for the world cup and will FAIL at the AFCON too. He wouldnt even smell the podium.
We are not going to meet the likes of Lesotho or Rwanda at AFCON, almost all the WC teams from Africa will also be at the AFCON and they are all above 80 in FIFA rankings…..so I wonder how a man who cant defeat any top 80 team will make it to the semi finals of AFCON……..LMAOOooo
Like I told the other dunce who couldnt calculate 3/5 accurately, I know y’all are desperate to rubbish Rohr, but wait till the person in charge qualifies for the World cup and get us a medal at AFCON (without disgracefully parking buses) before you do that.
This one cannot even lace Rohr’s boots yet. He cant qualify Benin for AFCON and go ahead to nearly qualify them for the world cup too.
Your comments lack accuracy and it appears to me that you are hell bent on twisting conversation when you are not Oliver twist..
Prove me wrong..
1. Chelle had the best result in his group and based on stats he would have qualified as group leader.
2. Chelle has won 6 out of 10 matches involving the Suoer Eagles. (60% winning ratio)
3. His team only conceded a goal in each of all the WC qualifying matches.
4. His Super Eagles team has scored in all the matches he handled.
5. He won the only competition his team was involved in.
Tell me about Rohr’s record
1. The only Super Eagles coach without a win in a single year
2. The only Super Eagkes coach to loose a 4 goal lead
3. The only Super Eagles coach to loose a home match in more than a decade
4. Rohr has the record of losing to a team with the largest difference in FIFA ranking.
By the way, the max goal conceded by his team in each of the WCQ is 1*
I’m sure you are busy surfing the net to distort facts..
Home based Eagles that you have no regard for and perhaps your lord Roar avoided during his term has now become your yardstick for evaluation..
Hahahahaha…..Rohr was the 1st to do this, Rohr was the last to do that, Rohr was the right coach to do this, Rohr was the left coach to do that…….the moment we mention that Rohr fulfilled ALL the terms of his engagement with flying colours…….all that nonsense you are harping on ends in the latrine………LMAOooo
Rohr didnt win i a single year but qualified for the tournament after that with 2 games to spare……..LMAOooo
Rohr threw away a 4 goal lead but remained on top of the group from day 1 to last day of qualifying
Rohr lost home matches but still qualified for each of those assignments with games to spare.
The Fulani herdsman you are trying to hype with rigged numbers did not lose any match yet FAILED…..he FAILED even when given 3 chances…….LMAOoooo. He has FIALED on both terms of his contract CHAN and WC so far and is destined to FAIL again at the next AFCON.
The last time I checked, none of the SE coaches’ targets is to set records…..their targets is always clear……ROHR MET ALLL HIS TARGETS WITH FLYING COLOURS……..CHELLE HAS THUS FAR FAILED IN ALL HIS OWN TARGETS……..DEAL WITH THAT………..LMAOoooo
Chelle shouldn’t even exist in the same sentence where Rohr is mentioned as far as Nigerian football is concerned.
The next time Nigeria will play at a WC would be at least 12 years after Rohr qualified us for a WC we had NO BUSINESS qualifying for, and at least 4 years after Chelles FAILED with 3 opportunities to qualify us for a WC we had every business qualifying for, because our highest-ranked competitor was almost 20 places below us in FIFA rankings………LMAOoooo.
The man could never defeat any team ranked above 80 on FIFA ladder and could never win any match as long as Osimhen was not on the pitch……..LMAOooo. You only need to have 4 good midfielders in your team, and he will be rendered useless, looking like a dundee for 90 minutes.
That is the man who is better than Rohr technically and tactically……LMAOooo
You lie so blatantly that even the devil is shocked.
Now lets go back to your “Accuracy” claims and let’s see who is the lying serpent trying to twist figures so that this incompetent coach will look good in the eyes of his minions.
Chelle’s 14 games so far:
Rwanda 2-0 (W), Zimbabwe 1-1 (D), Ghana 2-1 (W), Jamaica 2-2 (D), Russia 1-1 (D), Senegal 0 – 1 (L), Sudan 0 -4 (L), Congo 2 – 0 (W), Rwanda 1-0 (W), South Africa 1-1 (D), Lesotho 2 – 1 (W), Benin 4 – 0 (W), Gabon 1-1 (D), DRC 1-1 (D)
For people who can count properly, those are 14 matches, 6 wins, 6 draws, and 2 losses. (since they too have written off the PK loss to DRC “…He is yet to lose a match…” )
Shamless liars want to cherry-pick matches to give us a false sense of success……”Chelle has won 6 out of 10 matches involving the Suoer Eagles. (60% winning ratio)…..” LMAOOooo. A FAT LIE FROM THE PIT OF HELL.
The remaining 4 matches were played by the Golden Eaglets and Super Falcons, and Chelle was not in the dugout nor trained the teams before those matches……LMAOOoo
They want to make a smokescreen of history we saw happen right before our eyes.
When Chelle was contracted by the NFF, he was contracted to handle the SE in its entirety, whether home-based players or foreign-based players….his terms of engagement and mandates were crystal clear, which he agreed to and sign without a gun on his head. But enablers of Failure and celebrants of Mediocrity want to cherry-pick which results to use to assess his reign…….LMAOooo
They initially said “… his team had the best result in the group stage…” When we reminded them that BASED on stats, from MD 5 when he started the job, Morocco had 6 wins, Tunisia had 6 wins, 5 wins and 1 draw, they quickly changed their lying tongues to “….Chelle had the best result in his group …”…..LMAOOooo
Ladies and gentlemen, what is our business with “…Chelle had the best result in his group ….” when HE FAILED TO TOP THE GROUP when he had 2 opportunities to do so
What is our business with “…..His team only conceded a goal in each of all the WC qualifying matches….” As if that is supposed to be something to be proud of. A sore reminder of what an incompetent coach Chelle is. A coach who can hardly hold on to a lead.
What is our business with “…..His Super Eagles team has scored in all the matches he handled…..” Yorubas will say O jebi……LMAOoo, he shouldn’t have scored goals playing against teams ranked 60th and below with the last 2 of 3 AFOTY in his team.
Again, “… He won the only competition his team was involved in….”, the last time I checked, the only competition Chelle was involved in was CHAN and the WC Africa Playoffs.
2 friendly matches that were not even FIFA graded and never added half a point to our FIFA rankings have suddenly become competitions……….LMAOoooo.
Let’s even assume all these lies are true…… 1. Chelle had the best result in his group and based on stats he would have qualified as group leader………2. Chelle has won 6 out of 10 matches involving the Suoer Eagles. (60% winning ratio)….3. His team only conceded a goal in each of all the WC qualifying matches…..4. His Super Eagles team has scored in all the matches he handled….5. He won the only competition his team was involved in.
Have all of these qualified us for the World Cup….??? NOOOOOOOOOooooooooo
That’s all that matters. That is all Nigerians care about. That is all that would impact the careers of our players. No player will get a new club because Chelle has a phantom 60% win ratio or scored 3 goals per match or kept 14 clean sheets in 14 games.
Rohr picked up a team ranked 70th in the world, a team whose players couldn’t sign for clubs in the English Championship, because of our poison wouldn’t get them British work permits, qualified for everything and anything (including the knockout stage of AFCON) with games to spare, got us to AFCON podium playing dynamic football after not qualifying for 3 out of 4 editions and by the time he was leaving, we had the luxury of even saying we wouldn’t call up players not playing in the top 5 leagues of Europe.
Enablers of FAILURE can continue conjuring superfluous records and win ratios that lead Nigerian football nowhere but back to the pits.
Of what use is your beautiful handwriting if your results read FAIL all the way?
Chelle FAILED at CHAN, FAILED in WC qualifiers and is guaranteed to FAIL again at AFCON because he cant defeat any team ranked above 80…..and these are all FACTS…….!!!
But Rohr first 14 matches with Nigeria was 7win, 4draws and 3losses.
The only difference is that rohr played against more formidable teams, so who said chelle can’t have a better record if given same 5yrs to be with the team?
Rohr’s first 14 matches with a SE team ranked 70th in the world and failed to qualify for back-to-back AFCONs:
Tanzania 1-0 (W), Zambia 2 -1 (W), Algeria 3-1 (W), Senegal 1 -1 (D), Togo 3 – 0 (W), South Africa 0 – 2 (L), Cameroon 4 – 0 (W), Cameroon 1 – 1 (D), Zambia 1 – 0 (W), Algeria 1 -1 (D), Argentina 4 – 2 (W), Angola 2 -1 (W), Poland 1 – 0 (W), Serbia 0 – 2 (L)
Wait, don’t worry, from your 3/5 = 80% win ratio nonsense of the last time, I know you don’t know how to count or work out simple arithmetic. I’ll save you that stress and do the metrics for you….. 9Ws 3Ds 2Ls…….9/14 = 64.29%
Mind you, only Tanzania and Togo were our mates at that time o….unlike your Chelle, who cannot defeat our mates or any team above 80th position in FIFA rankings till tomorrow……LMAOoooo. Give him 80 and below, he will still need Osimhen to be in the form of his life to be able to scrape wins against them…….LMAOoo
Rohr didn’t take 5 years to win 9 matches in his first 14, especially against FORMIDABLE TEAMS as you have confessed….??? I wonder why you are practically begging for 5 years for Chelle to be able to get a better record.
We didn’t “GIVE” Rohr 5 years…..he EARNED his 5 years with the team.
Rohr his 1st year took us 32 PLACES……yes 32 PLACES UP THE FIFA LADDER.
Chelle has spent almost 10 months with us already, and we’ve moved up ONLY A PALTRY 5 PLACES…….LMAOOoo….because we’ve been scraping wins against teams in 90th and below, struggling against teams 80th and above, and cannot gather a significant number of points to make a significant move up.
Your Touareg can’t even earn half that number of years Rohr got because he will record his 3rd failure in the space of 1 year at AFCON and would be gone by February 2026 unless this NFF doesn’t want it to be well with their children and children’s children.
A useless coach who claims DR Congo used juju to defeat him……..LMAOooo. We are going to AFCON where he will see real juju soon
No doubt, Chelle has done well, given that he’s gotten some good results in spite of NFF ONIGBESE, the calamitous disaster of a football federation he’s condemned to work with.
However, we will be remiss if we don’t acknowledge his deficiencies, which will be ruthlessly punished when we meet quality opposition.
Chelle’s decision making leaves a lot to be desired. His decision to go to the playoffs with a thin midfield, starting the wrong players in games, the timing and effectiveness of his substitutions, and his apparent struggle with game management. He lost a lead at home against Zimbabwe, lost a lead in the dying minutes against Gabon, and again lost a lead against DRC. While it’s normal to concede goals, the manner we do in his tenure suggests he is tactically naive and does not have a good working knowledge of the players at his disposal, like a workman that doesn’t know what tools are best used for certain jobs. He needs to do better in this regard.
Let’s not deceive ourselves. Some really decent teams will be at the Afcon next month. To get the better of these teams, the SE must do better than what we’ve been seeing of recent. What DRC did to us will be childsplay compared to what we will suffer at the hands of better teams.
Goodpoint@pompei , thanks for bringing out that statistics. You dont need 2; 0 to win big games. Morihno , always prays for his team to be lucky to score first. Once this is achieved he tactical locks up . Many big coaches are like that too. So for chille to be showing this urgly trend of always starting well and then losing or drawing in the end shows his game management tactics is a suspect.. we have to shine our eyes. Another fan brought out another stastitis that Chille has only won games in which Osihmen plays so in that regard he is lucky and not better than Paseiro and FInidi
In the 90s and 2000’s Nigeria got away with a fire brigade approach to manage football, not anymore.
Football is brutal these days and it only tends to reward Football Federations who have a cogent plan and execute it with forensic efficiency.
Romania, I would argue, had and (should still have) more technically gifted players than England. In football terms, England rarely produces technical players. They produce disciplined players, those who know the requirements of their role and can be trusted to toe the line on the pitch.
Romania, well, they have/had the penchant to players with that touch of magic who can produce what can’t really be coached. It’s no wonder Romania defeated back to back in 1998 World Cup and 2000 Euros.
Where is Romania today? They hardly qualify for world cups and haven’t been to one since 1998 despite technical football residing naturally in their DNA.
England, well England qualifies for world cups with games to spare, going as far as their disciplined talents can take them, never far enough to lifting the trophy.
My point, Romania have quite literally dropped off the international footballing map because of corruption, poor management, lack of structure to identify, nurture and develop future stars, poor immigration policies….. The list goes on.
Nigeria were 1 goal away from qualifying for Qatar 2022, 1 goal (Vs Zimbabwe at home) away from qualifying for 2026 Americas world cup, and why? Lackadaisical management of football in a country that its citizens are fleeing like a sinking ship as it teeters from one economic crisis to one religious crisis to another political crisis.
Some observers say the country is a heartbeat away from becoming a full blown failed state.
Italy won the world cup in 2006 and it is one of only a handful of countries ever to win the tournament. They, like Nigeria, would miss the next 2 tournaments in a row and, like Nigeria, are hoping to qualify via the European playoffs.
Playoffs, Italy, how the mighty has fallen. Who is England compared to Italy on a good day? Yet England qualifies for the world cup with relative ease.
Italy has, in truth, struggled to produce quality strikers of late. Still, there has to be something structural radioactive in the management of their football that has led to this almighty fall from grace.
Nigeria oh Nigeria! Fans complain about ineffective players : Iwobi, Lookman, Nwabali, Simon, Chukwueze, Ekong, Ajayi and Tanimu.
Yet, Rohr qualified for all tournaments going and Peseiro almost won the Afcon with these same players meaning, the problem runs deeper, deeper than these players.
The entire football infrastructure, architecture, structure, framework, approach and mindset is rotten to the core. All within the backdrop of a nation sick in the bed corruption, political crisis and economic uncertainty.
I will be watching the Afcon as I think the time will come when, Afcon and world cup, we will be qualifying for none!
Benin Republic played the Super Falcons in their country, Benin a country with no female football pedigree and I enjoyed the match. Come to Nigeria, the so called useless giant of women’s football and we could not watch the match live for love nor money!
What kind of country is this? What kind of administrators are these? What sort of mindset is this? Who do us like this, my people?
And you don’t expect the god of soccer to turn it’s back on us.
I rest my case.
I think we should let the ghost of Rohr rest. Lightning is about to strike twice in the same spot.
Benin lost a friendly to Burkina Faso on Tuesday and the federation president is urging Rohr to resign.
A replay of 2021 by Nigeria. Mere weeks before AFCON.
Coaches are either sacked or waiting to be sacked.
I get am before no be property.
Broos has stayed 5 years with South africa.
Desabre has stayed 3 years with Congo DR while Nigeria has had 7 changes in coaching spells within the same period.
Incidentally, only Eguavoen (in the first of 2 spells) won 2 competitive matches WITHOUT OSIMHEN.
I read NFF was furious with Chelle in a recent match and warned him never to substitute Osimhen for any reason.
If that info was correct, how will any coach not have an “Osimhen problem”?
Sometimes I reason if law number one of The 48 Laws of Power book “Never Outshine Your Master” is not been played in the national team.
That’s why our first 11 have virtually remained the same in the national team for many years.
Perhaps there is a pact that certain players cannot be dropped.
Our midfield has perpetually been tiny for many years to accommodate 2000 attackers.
We are afraid to try new things really.
So, let’s tackle the fundamentals of our team and leave out soldiers who performed and have gone our of the barracks.
It’s shameful Cape Verde with “unknown names” are going to the world cup and we are not. That’s a defect in structure right from time.
Iwobi this, Iwobi that!
Arokodare this and that!
Ekong this and that!
Simon is rubbish !
Blah blah blah! Load of old bull*cks!
Ekong was the player of the tournament in the last Afcon and why? DESPITE HIS LIMITATIONS, HE WAS DEPLOYED IN A WAY THAT MAXIMISED HIS STRENGTH WITHIN A FORMULA AND FORMATION THAT BROUGHT OUT THE BEST IN HIM.
Yes, the Super Eagles as an entity is not ambidextrous. As a collection, these players cannot seem to perform the simultaneous role of manufacturing scoring chances and keeping the doors locked at the back.
Gernot Rohr saw this in the 2018 World Cup after the match against Croatia and reverted to 3 at the back – Ekong, Balogun, Omeruo. All of a sudden, we became credible, almost knocking out Argentina.
Towards the later part of his reign, after struggling to get an ambidextrous tune from these players, epitomised by the 4-4 draw at home to Sierra Leone, he went 3 at the back and stayed 3 at the back to qualify for the next round of world cup qualifiers before being unceremoniously booted out of the job.
Peseiro, trying and failing to get an ambidextrous tune from these same players, after 2 draws from the world cup qualifiers and 1 draw from the Afcon opener, saw the light and went 3 at the back. Ekong again would shine with Iwobi’s hard work and tireless dedication making up for his shortcomings.
Again, why this set of players can never see a game out without conceding when playing 2 at the back is beyond me.
Chelle is yet to lose a game with them. But he drew so many games that could have been wins simply because he trusted in the ability of the boys to prevail with 2 at the back.
I have lost my initial trail of thought but, these same players that we criticise from heaven and back can all perform within the right formation.
Even Onuachu was re-imagined and re-purposed as a last minute time waster in the last Afcon and he performed it admirably. Osihmen’s best work in that Afcon was either supplying passes or breaking up play from the front or from outright defending from corner kicks.
I will spend less of my time dragging any player’s name in the mud. Yes I have my favourites and yes I have others whom I am not so much a fan of. Okoye, Ekong, Dessers, Ndidi, Lookman, Ajayi are just a few of the players who do not float my boat. But, under the right formation, under an astute coach, under a better managed football federation, these same players will perform wonders.
And I am not ashamed to admit it.
Hahaha you lost your train of thought mid typing abi hehehe – yes most have their favourites , but I don’t roll like that, I always only want the ones that I see as best in the any current fold, but Iwobi is not and has never been that, so as long as you’re not going to be trying to advocate for him in the team anymore then maybe we can have some peace in the blog – Iwobi is the weakest link and the reason (apart from the bloody NFF and Finidi) that we are in this predicament – if not for him it’s sure to say that we would have beaten Congo. Shikenna.
Hahahaha, Iwobi is the reason you couldn’t defeat Congo, not Nidid who gave our opponents an assist in the 6 yard box, not the entire team who couldn’t rise to the occasion after Osimhen was subbed off, nor the coach who keeps playing Iwobi where his skillset does not fit and got tactically imprisoned for 100 minutes in a game that lasted 120 minutes……LMAOooo.
Pls tell your fallacy to the running waters of the imo river …..LMAOoo.
Iwobi will remain a key player of the SE till 2030…..know that and know peace. Otherwise, get a rifle and do the needful anytime you see him in the SE camp…..LMAOoo
Ndidi? Where was Ajayi who was meant to cover for Bassey who was badly out of sync and out of position?
Bassey: he had options but opted to pass to Iwobi who had 2 Congolese waiting to pounce on him (Iwobi) like a hawk! Bassey is meant to be a high profile centre back, yet he passed to Iwobi who was being marked, with the pass itself rendering his defensive department very vulnerable as the full back was over-lapping and Ajayi not positioned well enough to provide cover.
It is a miracle Ndidi covered enough grounds to even make it to where he tried to deflect the ball inside the 18 yard box. That should have been the function of the second centre back.
Bassey would learn his lesson and be more cautious for the remainder of the match, electing to pass sideways or even back to Nwabali, but by that time, the damage was done.
It was the same Bassey and his centre back partner Semi Ajayi who damagingly made a mess of their first and last penalties, crashing us out of contention.
The 2 centre backs had a bad day at the office on the day. These are players with English Premier League experience fluffing the biggest chances of their careers. But, Chelle had other options but somehow pushed forward centre backs who proved incapable of stabbing home penalties.
It wasn’t meant to be for Nigeria on the night. It’s not any player’s fault. The team was slow to learn on the night as they took gambles that didn’t pay off from the front to the back.
Whatever anyone might feel about Nwabali, his reputation as a credible safe pair of hands in penalties is established. He played his part in the shootout.
All you have said wouldn’t have mattered if ndidi had simply done what even an academy players has common sense to do…….clear the ball to touch rather than try to control a cross across the 6yrd box.
Ndidi did not “deflect” the ball, he practically cushioned it onto the path of the opposing attacker.
It would have been better if e didn’t even touch the ball and let it run across the 6 yard box, the Congolese striker would have missed it by half a second.
Let’s stop twisting facts because we want to protect Ndidi……he committed an error that belies his age and years of experience….PERIOD.
Let’s learn to say the truth at all time.
Now we have to commend ndidi for covering enough grounds as if the goalscorer got the box from midfield on a jetski….LMAOoo
It’s even more annoying knowing this dude started life as a CB….yet commits such schoolboy blunder.
The last time I saw that type of error was Oboabona vs Burkina Faso at the 2013 AFCON……and it also ended in tears.
No 1 rule of defending…..do try controlling a ball across your goal when you are facing your goal…..clear it with your first touch, even if you have to slide.
If we know what is good for us, any SE player who is 28 and above and wasn’t born in Europe nor MRI certified should cease to be starters in the SE going forward. We know their 28 is actually 38. It’s high time we give the younger ones the reigns or surround aged players with younger energetic ones who can cover their lapses.
Absolutely @drey it’s so painful. Ndidi was disappointing!
Imagine him going in the way of Chukwueze,potentially we should be 2 goals up.That miscommunication ended our world Cup dreams!
Isn’t it funny how, for the remainder of the match, Bassey elected the pass sideways or backwards to Nwabali who then hoofed the ball into the air.
The Congolese had set well laid traps which Bassey unwittingly fell into by passing for Iwobi who was dispossessed before Congo …… Wel you know the rest.
Bassey wised up. He would never carelessly pass forward again. You see, we were leading 1:0. But whilst we were leading on the score board, Congo were leading in the mind game.
We needed not press the issue, we were leading 1:0 for Christ sake. Why not let Congo come to us, by Bassey and Ajayi passing sideways or backwards, making Congo overcommit, before we then use the pace of Lookman, Osihmen, and Chukwueze in a blinding counter!
Congo had figured out our game plan beforehand but we only figured out their game plan in the second half of extra time after the introduction of Awaziem. Way too late for us to get back into the match.
A big credit to the Super Eagles and Chelle because, whilst we spent the entire game trying to figure out the nature of threat before us, we only conceded the equaliser.
With the way Congo’s plan was coming together for them on the night, another team could have easily lost to them by 3 goals to 1.
Cameroon, a team of the calibre of Nigeria, lost to Congo in 90 minutes but we the Super Eagles made them suffer for the win.
Yes they won Nigeria but unlike Cameroon, we took them all the way, even at some point clawing back the deficit in penalties.
I like how Chelle kept to his formation and approach whilst trying to work out what Congo was throwing at him. Had Chelle buckled and made some kneejerk reaction, the defeat would have been more embarrassing because Congo were playing well and praying to prey on any mistakes from Nigeria, the way they made maximum impact from a combination of mis-steps from Bassey, Iwobi, Ajayi, Ndidi and Nwabali to score their only goal in open play.
But Nigeria made sure that that would be the only mistake Congo would profit from in open play.
The Super Eagles remain a stubborn team that is hard to beat. Throughout the entire qualifiers and play offs, Nigeria only lost 1 game (against Benin) in regulation time.
That is to tell you how ruthlessly competitive football is in Africa these days.
It is not enough not to lose matches, you have to outright WIN enough matches.
Nigeria is not a world cup worthy brand. Notice is said “BRAND” not “TEAM”.
In Iwobi, Onuachu, Eking, Ndidi, Simon and Nwabali, the Super Eagles have enough quality in depth as a team to qualify for the world cup.
But as a brand, the team is poorly managed by administrators who don’t know what they are doing, which has irrevocably damaged the brand.
And it is such a shame!
@Deo, this is actually my first real reaction since that disaster in Morocco. I’ve been silent because the loss didn’t just hurt — it shook something deep in the fabric of my passion for the Super Eagles. I’m honestly not sure my commitment will ever be the same again. For the sake of my mental health, I need some distance from this team because what happened that night went beyond football.
Now to your analysis — and let me say it clearly: you delivered an excellent, perceptive breakdown of what actually transpired on that pitch. Your reading of the psychological battle, the traps DR Congo set, and how Bassey gradually became mentally conditioned into fear-passing… spot on. Truly top-tier analysis.
More interestingly, your work also unintentionally exposes the biggest tactical gap in Eric Chelle’s coaching profile, something I’ve always talked about on this forum since his appointment for those who are following me..
Because everything you described — the mental retreat, the collapse into sideways/backward possession, the panic after taking the lead, the complete inability to switch the rhythm of the game — these are not one-off occurrences. They are patterns, and they trace straight back to the man on the touchline.
Chelle has one incurable disease as a coach: once we take the lead, his entire team collapses into survival mode. Every. Single. Time! It’s a shame.
We saw it against Gabon
We saw it against Zimbabwe.
We saw it against Rwanda.
We saw it against Ghana
It is systemic.
It is predictable.
And worst of all, it is fatal.
Chelle’s Super Eagles don’t manage games; they retreat into them. They surrender initiative. They mentally concede before the opposition even adjusts.
Chelle has no Plan B when Osimhen is missing. Without Osimhen, our attacks lose identity. There is no structured alternative, no adjusted approach, no strategic remodeling. The team becomes a confused ensemble of talented players who don’t know where the goal is. It has been like this since his very first match. He has never solved it.
And then the biggest indictment of all: Chelle took 120 minutes to figure out Congo’s game plan.
By the time he responded — after Awaziem came in — the match was already dead. You were so right on this one too.
A top coach reads a match in 10 minutes.
A good coach reads it in 25 minutes.
A struggling coach reads it at halftime.
A poor coach reads it late in the second half.
Chelle? He solves puzzles in extra time — long after the damage is done.
The sad irony is that you are also right by describing the team as a stubborn team, hard to beat, filled with quality players. But stubbornness is not a strategy. Grit is not a tactical plan. And “almost winning” is not progress.
Chelle is not a bad coach — far from it. He revived our attack. He restored belief in the squad. He is loved by the players. He has improved some individuals massively. But all these are not evidence of a messiah; they are signs of a solid coach with clear limitations.
And that’s why, though I don’t believe he is the long-term answer for Nigeria, I still think we must keep him for the AFCON. The tournament is too close, and changing the technical staff now would cause even more instability. Let him finish the cycle, let him learn, and let us avoid more chaos.
But beyond that?
Nigeria needs a coach with greater tactical clarity, faster in-game reading, stronger psychology, and the courage to innovate beyond one system and one striker.
We cannot continue living on the edge of heartbreak because our coach cannot hold a 1-0 lead.
We cannot continue waiting for extra time to understand our opponents.
We cannot continue pretending that “close defeat” is acceptable for a nation with our history.
For my own sanity, I’m stepping back emotionally. I’ve already decided I won’t watch a single AFCON match live — maybe I’ll catch the highlights if they win. And that will be the first time I deliberately skip an AFCON featuring the Super Eagles since the 1992 edition. Thank God people like you will still be here, dropping premium updates and top-notch analysis to keep the rest of us informed. Hahaha.
I hope the people in charge are brave enough to look past emotions and confront the truth.
We need better.
And we deserve better.
A poor coach reads it late in the second half.
Chelle? He solves puzzles in extra time — long after the damage is done.
The sad irony is that you are also right by describing the team as a stubborn team, hard to beat, filled with quality players. But stubbornness is not a strategy. Grit is not a tactical plan. And “almost winning” is not progress.
Chelle is not a bad coach — far from it. He revived our attack. He restored belief in the squad. He is loved by the players. He has improved some individuals massively. But all these are not evidence of a messiah; they are signs of a solid coach with clear limitations.
And that’s why, though I don’t believe he is the long-term answer for Nigeria, I still think we must keep him for the AFCON. The tournament is too close, and changing the technical staff now would cause even more instability. Let him finish the cycle, let him learn, and let us avoid more chaos.
But beyond that?
Nigeria needs a coach with greater tactical clarity, faster in-game reading, stronger psychology, and the courage to innovate beyond one system and one striker.
We cannot continue living on the edge of heartbreak because our coach cannot hold a 1-0 lead.
We cannot continue waiting for extra time to understand our opponents.
We cannot continue pretending that “close defeat” is acceptable for a nation with our history.
For my own sanity, I’m stepping back emotionally. I’ve already decided I won’t watch a single AFCON match live — maybe I’ll catch the highlights if they win. And that will be the first time I deliberately skip an AFCON featuring the Super Eagles since the 1992 edition. Thank God people like you will still be here, dropping premium updates and top-notch analysis to keep the rest of us informed. Hahaha.
I hope the people in charge are brave enough to look past emotions and confront the truth.
We need to do better.
And we deserve better.
Your analysis is your analysis, mine is mine. I have zero intentions on poking holes at your analysis even though the holes are there to be found.
Do you read the Bible? Have you read the synoptic gospel? Have you seen how certain accounts differ from the books of Matthew, Mark and Luke of th same event?
Who was telling the truth among them? Saints Matthew? Mark or Luke?
Let’s learn to be less arrogant. Humility costs nothing. Being a doctor (if true) doesn’t automatically make your analysis infallible.
The titles of those books are called “Gospel According to the Books Matthew……. And so on……..
Your analysis is according to how Drey sees it. I have zero intentions in dragging that with you.
I know my expectations, I know how what I saw translated to me. If you find holes in my analysis, well, that is par for the course.
……And which of the gospels told us outright lies, just because it wants to protect the image of a certain character?
The moment you put your “opinion” or “analysis” in the public space for consumption, it transcends from that point what is exclusively yours and will be subject to scrutiny….and you can’t do a thing about that, nor can your vague threats.
Next time, keep your analysis to yourself since you don’t want it to be scrutinized, but what will not happen is you intently trying to shave our heads while we are still awake with your conjectures.
Once again……Ndidi did not “deflect” that cross into the path of the opponent. He attempted to control the cross and invariably laid in on a platter for the Congolese attacker. PERIOD…..!!!
If that is what has sunk a pin in your overbloated ego, then I am glad it did. It only means in the words of the late MKO Abiola, “you can fool some of the people some of the time, all of the people some of the time, some of the people all of the time, but not all of the people all of the time.
Feel free to “pick holes” in my analysis if you can….but know that lies can never overcome the truth.
“…..Congo had figured out our game plan beforehand, but we only figured out their game plan in the second half of extra time after the introduction of Awaziem………LMAOooo……..yet we should give credit to Chelle for taking 105 minutes to figure out his opponent’s gameplan and subsequently going defensive against a team ranked nearly 20 places below us, with inferior football pedigree to ours……..LMAOOooo.
Our people say bi a ba fi ogun odun kpile were, ijo wo la fe jo ijo e. If we take 20 years to prepare the stage for a lunatic to dance, how long then will the dance itself be….??
The same coach who took 105 minutes to figure out his opponent’s game plan, but rather than nullify and launch a counter offensive against it, rather resorted to damage control, is the same one we must give credit to and praise to high heavens heading into AFCON for being a “tactical genius”…….LMAOOooo. It’s not like he even had a solid game plan going into the penalty shootouts he was holding on to dear life for, after finally taking 105 minutes to figure his opponent out………LAOOooo
DR Congo has suddenly become a world footballing power that we must celebrate losing to on penalties after being outplayed for 100 minutes, lamely parking the bus against them, cluelessly balloning balls from our defence to theirs for 100 minutes, as against Cameroon, that had an end-to-end, fire-for-fire encounter with them, only to lose to them via the fine margins of an injury-time set piece.
Please of what use is your loss to DRC even if you played a 7-7 draw in regulation time then, as against Cameroon’s 1-0 loss…….??? LMAOOoo
These are the so-called opinions you expect to be treated as sacrosanct and unquestionable……LMAOooo.
You must be a joke.
If you do not want your analyses to be subjected to public scrutiny, type them on a word processor on your device and read them to your satisfaction on there. But on wanting to make them Hallowed…….that must be a pipe dream from the gods.
Go back and tell your paymasters you didn’t succeed on this one.
I pity whoever still takes you seriously henceforth (just as I pitied them after Congo nailed our WC coffin) for being lied to all this time.
And ye shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.
As much as players have their flaws,the buck always falls on the coach.
We had ample time to win that match even after the equaliser but Chelle’s tactics fell flat.
ı have never been keen on Chelle. I had stated if we were going to go African, we should have gone for Pitso Mosimane. I vigorously clamoured for him on here. Simply because he had a better record than Chelle. If I had my way right now, I would still get Pitso. But alas! I am just a fan.
Anyway, that’s water under the bridge.
As much as Chelle has done partially well, it’s quite obvious he is short tactically. He’s overly reliant on the players rather than on his technical know-how. Hence the reason things falter whenever Osimhen is out.
We can’t be anyway successful in that regard.
If Chelle is going to stick around, he needs to up his ante, or better yet, reshuffle his technical team and get tactical back up from sound coaches that can assist him. The NFF should get rid of twiddle dee and twiddle Dum; Fidelis Ilechukwu and Daniel Ogunmodede. Respectfully, they are both redundant and a waste of space.
And as for Dikko , Gusua and their croonies, I am still waiting for their resignation but still not holding my breath.
God help us all.
CIV are quietly building a football dynasty, right under our noses.
They are the reigning Afcon Champs. They have good players and a good system. They have qualified for the world cup.
BEST OF ALL, they have a certain Kolo Toure, who is working as Pep Guardiola’s assistant at Man City Kolo is there learning, soaking in knowledge. In 2 to 3 years time, he will be a world class coach. And the CIV FA will come calling. Yes, CIV will have good, experienced players managef by a world class manager.
Kolo will bring all that knowledge, technical and tactical know-how to the table. And he will also train his assistants, passing on valuable knowledge.
CIV is quietly building for the future, while our own NFF ONIGBESE continue to prioritize their fat, bloated stomachs ahead of the Nigerian people.
Drey,
Vague threats you say…. I can’t recall threatening you covertly or overtly. Also, I am shocked that you, of all people, as arrogant as you are, would even feel threatened. No, I never threatened you in any guise and will never threaten you more so as I have no ability to execute the threat because I do not know you in person.
Absolutely. You can choose to scrutinize my opinion. I choose not to scrutinize your opinion because, at the very core, it is your opinion, your point of view, your perspective. You own it. It is shaped by your world view, your values, your experiences, your expectations, your ideals: all which are personal to you, all which have shaped your viewpoint. I have no intentions of questioning the validity or otherwise of your opinion. However, I can express my perspective on your own, which may change or not change how you see things. I don’t necessarily want you to change your opinion, perhaps I just want you to see it from my perspective. If you agree fine, if you disagree, equally fine. I think a plurality of options is what makes the world go round.
On Ndidi and the ball, I will continue disagreeing with you until you go blue in the face, and there is no damn thing you can do about it. You can bully Chima, you can bully others, YOU WILL NOT BULLY ME.
Pt 2 dr drey
The way I saw it. The ball was crossed into our box at a wicked pace. Ndidi, I think, knowing fully well that a heavy contact will likely lead to an own goal tried to intercept the ball mildly. In so doing , I believe that action, that contact from Ndidi slightly deflected the ball to the path of the incoming Congolese striker who stabbed home. You disagree with my assertion. That is your prerogative, that is your cup of tea . You are more than entitled to your perspective. I will not impose my perspective on you, YOU WILL NEVER EVER IMPOSE YOURS ON ME!!!!!
Which gospels told us outright lies. Hahaha! Millions of people don’t believe in the gospel my dear friend. Some say it’s a work of fiction. The synoptic gospels contradict each other in certain accounts which some would ‘opine’ as some of the accounts being false as they all cannot be true if the recollections contradict. You, of all people should know that.
You say I have “overbloted ego” isn’t that rich, coming from an arrogant doctor like you who goes about shoving your point of views in the throats of almost all contributors on this platform. Always right and others are always wrong.
Pt3 drey
This your obsession with lies and truth leads me to think you are in the wrong profession. Rather than a doctor, perhaps you should have been a barrister nay priest. Hahahaha. Lies blah blah blah! Load of old b*ll!
Yep! I chose to give Chelle credit for taking his time to figure out Congo rather than do any knee jerk reaction that would have made the loss more embarrassing. This “point of view” of mine is another issue for you, another bee in your bonnet, another headache to that brain housed in your skull. Well, take panadol and get over it. If it is another “falsehood” then I am not the pope! Hahahaha Joker!
Mate, regardless of how we prosecuted the game, I will still take and praise losing on penalties after extra time that the end-to-end fire-for-fire nonsense that you said Cameroon played. I told you, drey, I am not Chima, you will not gaslight me, YOU WILL NOT BULLY ME. You don’t feed me and I could care less about you.
Wrong @deo, Drey didn’t bullied Chima or anybody on this platform, we decided to free him with his uncultured way of life for our sanity, that dude might be working for CS hence the reason he is always on the wrong side of convo to generate traffic for the CS.
Lol paddy Femi me wey no dey follow their thread, shock when I find my name for person wey I no dey reason, say him bully me and others. Bully who and who???? Person wey I no dey reason one bit. Lol thank God say you give the correct answer. As we dey ignore monkey na so we person for no dey waste time with nuisance drey. Person wey need to fix himself na him people won dey do back and forth with?? People like drey and monkey for real life na slap them go collect if you see the persons wey dey behind phone dey talk trash to person. Na for CSN them dey fit sharp mouth and gain Payless attention. Real guys wey dey fulfilled for real life no dey reason like this nuisances. They used to be paddy I mean drey and monkey but na Osimhen throw spanner for their gay wedding. The issues wey drey get with Deo be say Deo na great writer so he has to try and pull him down with all false manners. That’s his modus operandi for years, he shares same attributes with monkey post and I figured that out years ago. So I no dey see am as human being. People wey dey behave like coward on a daily basis na him I wan reason talkless of bully. Deo Abeg find another word before you add me join nama.
Pt4 drey
Now, let me use one of your celebrated logics. You, drey, once said that winning after extra time, on penalties will be capped at what the result was in 90 minutes. Meaning, for the records, Congo, as you so lowly disparage them WON mighty Cameroon in the record books. The same Congo in the same playoffs DREW against Nigeria in the record books, despite Nigeria having an inferior Tuareg Coach and despite Nigeria having an inferior record to Cameroon in world cup history as, if I should remind you, Nigeria has never reached the quarter finals.
Show some respect to Congo and don’t allow yourself to be swayed by FIFA ranking that takes no account of the fact that Congo has some credible dual nationality players who played for Manchester United and the likes.
I never expected you or anyone to treat any of my options as “sacrosanct or unquestionable” I think many many contributors on this platform will be unambiguous in agreement that those adjectives perfectly describe you and encapsulate how you carry your arrogant self. You have found yourself within your own adjectives.
Pt 5 drey
I must be a joke? You are the joker!
My paymasters hahahaha! Oh drey! Somehow I never saw you as a sore loser. My paymasters!!!!??? Has it come to that? You can sink that low to the depth of immature depravity. My paymasters?? And you call me “a joke ”
Do not pity whoever still takes me seriously. Pity yourself for taking me seriously in the first place!
I come here to pass time, to share ideas, opinions and perspectives with others who would agree, disagree, refute, reject, rubbish, praise, or dismiss my views. It’s all part of the game, game of love, game of football discourse that, really should not be taken all too seriously.
Anybody who had taken me seriously is unserious. A miserable fellow who has nothing better to do in life than hang on every word espoused on a faceless forum by faceless contributors as fact and gospel instead of seeing these as flawed points of views that can be challenged, debated and enhanced upon intelligently in a fun manner.
When did I ever tell anyone I am a “foremost expert of inestimable fountain of knowledge and fortitude in the field of football punditry”. Anyone who takes me too seriously needs to get their head examined
To close this way: ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall indeed set ye free.
Doth ye knoweth the truth? Punk! Doth ye, drey?
@Deo, this is actually my first real reaction since that disaster in Morocco. I’ve been silent because the loss didn’t just hurt — it shook something deep in the fabric of my passion for the Super Eagles. I’m honestly not sure my commitment will ever be the same again. For the sake of my mental health, I need some distance from this team because what happened that night went beyond football.
Now to your analysis — and let me say it clearly: you delivered an excellent, perceptive breakdown of what actually transpired on that pitch. Your reading of the psychological battle, the traps DR Congo set, and how Bassey gradually became mentally conditioned into fear-passing… spot on. Truly top-tier analysis.
But your work also unintentionally exposes the biggest tactical gap in Eric Chelle’s coaching profile.
Because everything you described — the mental retreat, the collapse into sideways/backward possession, the panic after taking the lead, the complete inability to switch the rhythm of the game — these are not one-off occurrences. They are patterns, and they trace straight back to the man on the touchline.
Chelle has one incurable disease as a coach: Once we take the lead, his entire team collapses into survival mode. Every. Single. Time.
We saw it against Lesotho.
We saw it against Zimbabwe.
We saw it against Ghana.
We saw it against Gabon.
And now against Congo.
It is systemic.
It is predictable.
And worst of all, it is fatal.
Chelle’s Super Eagles don’t manage games; they retreat into them. They surrender initiative. They mentally concede before the opposition even adjusts.
Chelle has no Plan B when Osimhen is missing. Without Osimhen, our attacks lose identity. There is no structured alternative, no adjusted approach, no strategic remodeling. The team becomes a confused ensemble of talented players who don’t know where the goal is. It has been like this since his very first match against Rwanda, when at a point the host took total control of the match and almost got back into the game after we took the lead. He has never solved it.
And then the biggest indictment of all:
Chelle took 120 minutes to figure out Congo’s game plan.
By the time he responded — after Awaziem came in — the match was already dead.
A top coach reads a match in 10 minutes.
A good coach reads it in 25 minutes.
A struggling coach reads it at halftime.
A poor coach reads it late in the second half.
Chelle? He solves puzzles in extra time — long after the damage is done.
You are right: we are a stubborn team, hard to beat, filled with quality players. But stubbornness is not a strategy. Grit is not a tactical plan. And “almost winning” is not progress.
Chelle is not a bad coach — far from it. He revived our attack. He restored belief in the squad. He is loved by the players. He has improved some individuals massively. But all these are not evidence of a messiah; they are signs of a solid coach with very clear limitations.
And that’s why, though I don’t believe he is the long-term answer for Nigeria, I still think we must keep him for the AFCON. The tournament is too close, and changing the technical staff now would cause even more instability. Let him finish the cycle, let him learn, and let us avoid more chaos.
But beyond that? Nigeria needs a coach with greater tactical clarity, faster in-game reading, stronger psychology, and the courage to innovate beyond one system and one striker.
We cannot continue living on the edge of heartbreak because our coach cannot hold a 1-0 lead.
We cannot continue waiting for extra time to understand our opponents.
We cannot continue pretending that “close defeat” is acceptable for a nation with our history.
For my own sanity, I’m stepping back emotionally. I’ve already decided I won’t watch a single AFCON match live — maybe I’ll catch the highlights if they win. And that will be the first time I deliberately skip an AFCON featuring the Super Eagles since the 1992 edition. Thank God people like you will still be here, dropping premium updates and top-notch analysis to keep the rest of us informed. Hahaha.
We need to do better.
And we deserve better.
I would have quivered if this 5 part gibberish, changes the fact that Ndidi laid on a platter the equalizer for the Congolese (when the cross would have evaded everyone in the box if he hadn’t attempted to control it) and hence gets three orders magnitude of the blame you desperately want to distribute with iffy equity …….LMAOOooo.
You can continue to scramble for for political correctness and dance around the semantics of “Ndidi deflecting the ball” all you want. The entire world saw it, footballing experts, coaches, commentators, retired internationals, all gawked at such a silly school boy error and condemned it. So its nothing to go blue in the face for………LMAOoooo, except he who is a desperate thirst trap, trying to propound reversionistic narratives.
So good luck trying to prove that the earth is flat………..LMAOoooo
And now that your tactical genius Chelle has haplessly, hopelessly and humiliatingly “drawn” DRC without putting up any fight, after taking 1 month, 4 days and 105 minutes to figure them out, have we qualified for the world cup…..???
Clown…..!!!
Drey,
Okay, let me put it this way:
An unfortunate chain of events led to our demise in conceding the damaging equalising goal against Congo the other night, a goal Chelle was, Yes, unable to fashion a route out of.
Several players were links in the chain which started with:
Bassey: despite having several more viable and intelligent options, chose to pass to a heavily stalked and aggressively marked Iwobi.
Iwobi: who, instead of blasting that ball all the back of Abuja, chose to try to control the ball and turn towards the opposition area, poor choice.
Ajayi: who failed to read the danger earlier enough to prove ample cover for his centre defensive partner who was out of position and who (Bassey) failed to recover adequately and on time to make up for his ill-advised option of passing to Iwobi.
Ndidi: who was caught in the 2 minds of making heavy or making light contact with the ball but, in fact, in the end, made a poor contact with the ball and made an already bad situation much worse.
Nwabali: who failed woefully to read the danger unfolding before his eyes and elected to stand his ground whereas rushing out could have put the on-rushing Congolese defender off.
Chelle is, on a good day, not the calibre of coach to be coaching the Super Eagles. But, he did a far better job in the qualifiers than Finide and Peseiro and did a better job than Eguavoen would have done.
Statistically, had Chelle started this campaign, his limited capability would have gotten us to the world cup where his limitations would have been laid bare for the whole world to see.
I have never been blind to Chelle’s shortcomings, neither have I shied away from giving him praise where he deserves it or better still, when I think he deserves it from a position of personal taste and opinions.
Trust me, with the way Congo was playing, with the calibre of their coach and players, which how fired up the team was, honestly a Finidi or Eguavoen tutored Super Eagles would have collected 3 goals to zero on the night.
And you, Drey, vilify me for “Thanking God for Little Mercies”.
Nigeria did not qualify for the world cup but, on the night, Nigeria was not humiliated on the score board.
But I concede: Nigeria was outfoxed and outplayed.