Super Eagles head coach, Gernot Rohr, has recalled the trio of Kelechi Iheanacho, Semi Ajayi and Tyronne Ebuehi for the Nigerian side’s friendly encounter against Ukraine billed to hold at the Dnipro Arena, Ukraine, on September 10, Completesports.com reports.
Iheanacho and Ajayi were dropped from squad that represented Nigeria at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt after initially making the provisional squad.
Ebuehi was not considered for selection as he was recovering from the cruciate ligament that sidelined him for the entire 2018/2019 season.
Rohr also handed first invitation to Joe Aribo who has made headlines with Scottish giants, Rangers this season and young goalkeeper, Maduka Okoye, who plays for German club, Fortuna Dusseldorf.
Kaizer Chiefs goalkeeper, Daniel Akpeyi, Shehu Abdullahi and John Ogu were dropped from the squad that took part at AFCON 2019.
Former captain of the team, John Mikel Obi and Odion Ighalo were expectedly not included in the list following their recent retirement from international football.
Otherwise, Rohr kept faith with majority of his regular stars with Ahmed Musa, William Troost-Ekong, Kenneth Omeruo, Wilfred Ndidi and Oghenekaro Etebo among those named in the squad.
Lille of France new boy, Victor Osimhen, Moses Simon, Samuel Chukwueze, Alex Iwobi and Chidozie Awaziem were also included in the team.
Super Eagles Full List For Ukraine Friendly
Goalkeepers:
Ikechukwu Ezenwa, Francis Uzoho, Maduka Okoye
Defenders:
Kenneth Omeruo, William Troost-Ekong, Leon Balogun, Chidozie Awaziem, Ola Aina, Semi Ajayi, Tyronne Ebuehi, Jamilu Collins
Midfielders:
Wilfred Ndidi, Oghenekaro Etebo, Alex Iwobi, Joe Aribo, Kelechi Iheanacho
Forwards:
Ahmed Musa, Samuel Kalu, Moses Simon, Henry Onyekuru, Samuel Chukwueze, Paul Onuachu, Victor Osimhen
By Adeboye Amosu
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COMMENTS
Yeeeeeees! Aribo has been invited!
Fantastic addition to the squad. I have been following his exploits right from Charlton Athletic, it’s great feeling to see the scoring midfielder getting his maiden call up to Nigeria; the Nff did not go through the hassles of securing his clearance for Nat team as he has not featured for the three Lionns of England at any youth category. Joe Aribo has always express his interest to represent Nigeria from the outset. What a great star he is. His performance under Steven Gerard at Rangers fc has been fantastic with goals.
Instead of onuachu why not okereke? Otherwise the list is good to go
We need okereke in that team . he is in terrific form .
Okereke is a under 23 international and should be with the under 23 team same time the super eagles are playing Ukraine
Okereke David would been a great addition on account of his impressive showing at Club Brugge where he is the leading top scorer in the belgian league with 4goals. However, it would be difficult to drop any of the forwards at the AFCON as most of the players are in top forms, Osimhen, Onuachu, Onyekuru, Simon Moses, Chukwueze, Musa and Kalu Samuel. There is glut in the supply of quality players upfronts for Nigeria at the moments other uninvited players like Okereke are Awoniyi, Akpom, Nwakeme, jnr Ajayi, Blessing, Iheanacho, Noah Bazee.What is important is getting Rohr to develop his astuteness to to tinker the team.
Good job on Aribo. But we need to continue to push for Lookman and Sheyi Ojo as well. These are two players that will bring quality, and increase the competition for jerseys in the squad.
Really happy for Aribo. Like u said, Lookman n Sheyi are a must get for d SE. Quality, quality, quality is written all over their game.
Now, this is what I’m talking about! . Perhaps Rohr does read fans’ views on CSN. Can anyone really complain now again? Aribo, Osigwe in, plus the young guns blazing at the moment in Europe. Ebuehi, Kelechi and Ajayi back, and Ogu, Akpeyi dropped. Well done, sir. You sure know your job. No sentiments!
Bro. Even if he doesn’t pay attention to fans comments. Most of his lists are always devoid of sentiments. This coach knows his job to the teeth. This list is perhaps the best Nigeria can offer anywhere in the world. I would’ve preferred Okereke to Onuachu, but the youngster is mostly needed by the U23 at the moment. Fantastic list by all standards.
How about the inclusion of Azubuike Okechukwu, Mikel Agu. Both are midfielders, the former is a central midfielder while the latter is a DM. Both are derseving of Eagles invitation. Anderson Esiti who completed move to Greece giant, PAOK is another player who should get a look in with Ndidi being the only defensive .idfielder in the squad
Like we have been saying, one thing that is guaranteed with Rohr is selection on merit. No bonus sharing, no player agent services, no player sales. Just invitation of the best legs. Of course, there are some that arguably deserve a look. But it is impossible to invite everybody. Those others will likely be invited some other time.
Waooooooo…
A seigh of releif.
Purely young team with promising future…
One plea I wash to now make to the Coach is to play the players in their rightful positions. Make use of their stregnths and watch the outcome. Our wingers are fast and hungry, allow them to fly….
Up SE
Good list by Coach Rohr but d only problem is that AFCON U23 Olympic games qualifier against Sudan comes up same time and about 5 players of the team are named in this squad. This implies that we might present a weaker U23 against Sudan which could b disastrous considering what happened against Libya away.
Both Chukwueze, Uzoho, Awaziem, Kalu and Osimeh needs to be at d Olympics next year, meaning they will have to qualify first.
Methinks, since d game against Ukraine is just a friendly, the aforementioned players should be allowed to face Sudan in d home/away fixtures coming up same time.
This is what you get our coah Rohr, The most in-form players at any time t. And he invites new once according to the needs of Super Eagles. Not ready to please any body but just quietly doing his job. And when he invitees you, and you don’t justify your place after 1 , 2 or maybe 3 attempts you sure loose your place.
When you get back to form, you may get a recall if there is still vacancy.
But with this consistency in choosing the best per time, my people keep saying that he does not allow competition in the Super Eagels. I don’t know where they get that crap from. And if you check from Before World cup to now, several players have been weeded out and several have been grafted in. Players like Ideye, Idowu, Joel Obi, Nwakeme, Agu, Onazi,Success have been weeded out or left out temporarily to bounce back later. While additions like Kalu, Ajayi, Chukwueze, Onuahcu, Collins.
Welldone coah, your work is speaking. I know we are not there yet, but we will surely get there.
Don’t know why I just love this our coach God blessi Nigeria
The likes of Zubby did not get invite because of their involvement with the under 23.A great list and obviously a team we can be proud of at the moment.
However,continuity is best for every team especially when you have a credible technical team devoid of corruption.What Rohr has done is improvement of the team he took to Egypt and he will continue to noture and improve this team until it gets to an enviable height.
The likes of Onuachu has to up his game and sort his future out and quickly.The young goalkeeper Okoye will learn from his older compatriots and hoping to get into the Dusseldolf team after his loan spell with a division 4 side in Germany.
Ebuehi is crocked at the moment hope he gets back to his feet before the duel.
Wishing the super eagles victory in Ukraine hoping our Fifa ranking improves after this encounter.
While I have to applaud the invitation of Joe Aribo for his commitment to Nigeria, I quite agree with you on the invitation of Azubuike Okechukwu, a central midfielder with Reizspor of Turkey last season, who long over due for invitation to SE.
Azubike Okechukwu like Etebo Oghenekaro is one of the few midfielders who have understudied Mikel Obi during the last Rio Olympic game under Siasia.
His midfield genius and industry is the reason the dream team VI won the bronze in Brazil. The SE technical committee should have identified Zubby’s contributions while at Reiszpor on loan last season with Awaziem, while Awaziem made the team to AFCON Zubby’s midfield ingenuity which made him one of the outstanding midfield players last seasons escaped the notice of Rohr and his crew who should have used the biennial tournament to appraise his quality given that the SE are in dire need of a replacement for Mikel.In retrospect, the same Azubuike dovetailed nicely with Mikel at the same Rio allowing Mikel the free role in the attacking midfield area. I feel his addition to the team in the central midfield role will afford versatile Etebo to move up midfield, while Ndidi maintains his defensive midfield role of throwing tackles and shackles. Also, i feel Mikel Agu another defensive midfielder, a former youth teaamer at Porto fc, was also ommitted from the list. Injury dealt his chance of making the SE squad to Egypt a big blow. With his switch to Victoria Setubal in Portugal.
What we need now is Okereke to battle the 9 with Victor Osimeh…. Thank God no Akpeyi no Ighalo No Shehu
Good list but in my opinion, being just a friendly albeit grade A, we should have used this as a dragnet to increase the pool of players available for SE call up at anytime. With this in mind it’s understandable to leave out Okereke, cos we have him already, he can’t easily switch to another country, Onuachu, besides struggling to sort out his club career, we have him already, Moses Simon we have already. I would have suggested inviting Desser n Bazee if only to put Nigeria stamp on them, so we can easily have them when they hit form.They ve got d quality but might not have hit that stride yet.
Good list. But we still need more competition for our midfielders,Onuachu again, iheanacho recalled based on what? Anyway Rohr is the coach I guess he has his reasons for inviting these two players.
Yes Rohr is the coach and have his reasons for inviting those two. He has earned the right to invite any player he feels can help the team. I’m surprise you said Onuachu again. The same Onuachu that was an anthem in your mouth before the AFCON. LEEEMAOO! This list is an upgrade from the AFCON squad. No more Ogu whose presence in the team is mostly on social media. Most of the players above plays in the top 5 leagues of European football. No more players from Latvia, Estonia, Norway, Finland and co. In fact Musa May be left out eventually if he doesn’t return to Europe. The era of selecting players on sentiments is long gone at least as far as Rohr is still in charge. The SuperEagles are gradually brimming with quality by every passing day over the last three years. And the result is that we’ve moved all the way from 67th in the world to 33rd. With a positive result against Ukraine we can even go higher.
This is the best comment so far . no more playing players from 3rd world European leagues. A time will come when European champion league players will be invited
Yeah @David,though that can be achieved with having credible and good coaches like Rohr.When he finally leaves I hope we continue with that standard of employing credible foreign coaches otherwise we shall be going back to the dark ages of 6th in the world.
I’m surprised at peoples praises for Rohr just because he invited Aribo. This coming especially from some of his most severe critics. Hmmmmm….. People sha.
One thing we’ve failed to understand is that Rohr has mostly be very fair with his selection. And that’s one major reason I want him to continue as Super Eagles coach.
Besides, he seems to have a nice scouting network across Europe , even beyond those that we know. He’s been extremely professional with his job, though, like many coaches around the world, he has his weaknesses.
Let’s see what he makes of this latest squad, the new guys especially. But for him to succeed , he needs our support, not useless accusation and criticisms like I’ve noticed in many fans’ comments.
Deafening silence from Omo Congo…where could he be? Is he not happy that Rohr has come up with such a good list?
Lol@pompei, next thing he’d say is that he didn’t see the list on super sports TV. Lol… That guy is really the most studpid and hypocritical person I’ve ever seen.
Since it is a friendly match the coach should have invited some certain players and left our some’ See them they have started again with their double mouth and if the team lose they will start crying that it is an abomination for their team to lose to a team below them in FIFA ranking. Should the coach experiment and the result doesn’t favour they will start calling for the his head. Ungrateful fans waiting for their president to come and vomit his usual gibberish.
NFF & U-23 coach should not toy with U-23 team. It is an avenue 2 build/experiment future S.E 4 next AFCON & W.Cup.Failure 2 qualify wi spell doom 4 S.E and will continue building without blending
1. M.okoye-Izoho 2.Ebuehi 3.Collins-Utin 4.Azubuike-M.Agu 5 Awaziem 6.S.Ajayi 7.Bonaventure-S.Kalu 8.Onyekuru 9.Osimhen-Okereke 10.Nwakali-Aribo 11.chukwueze
My lineup in a 4-1-4-1 formation:
Uzoho
Ebuehi, Ekong, Omeruo, Aina
Ndidi
Kalu, Chukwueze, Aribo, Iwobi
Osimhen
We can sub in other players as required later.
I want to try Chukwueze in the AM position, as I see a bit of ABEDI PELE in him. He can pick up the ball in midfield, and run directly at the opposition defence, creating possible freekick and penalty opportunities. I would also encourage him to shoot at goal. Between him and Aribo, I would expect to see plenty of shots at goal. I also want the team to work on providing service to the lead striker, in this case, Osimhen. Passes from midfield and crosses into the box. Additionally, I think we need only one DM at a time, unless for game management e.g. we are defending a one goal lead 10 minutes to the end.
@ Pompei, I think you re right about Chuzee, he seems to be a combo of great Abedi Pele n that explosive Amunike.
Good line up only difference I will make is move Kalu to the left, chuckwueze to the right as inverted wingers and play Iwobi and Aribo in the middle with Oshimen as striker. Bring on Etebo when Ndidi is tired. But with that midfield and attack the DM shouldn’t be overworked as can put incredible press on opponents. We are blessed with a lot of strikers and players upfront so when any of them is tired the sub can still come on and maintain same flair and intensity, this team if coached right can really achieve a lot globally as well. Good luck SE.
“But with that midfield and attack the DM shouldn’t be overworked as can put incredible press on opponents”.
Rez, that is exactly what the formation is meant to achieve! Your suggestion about the inverted wingers is nice. They can cut in and whip in crosses, or even try shots at goal. Ideally, the four playing behind Osimhen should be mobile, to keep the opponent guessing. So for example, Chukwueze can switch between the winger and AM positions, depending on the opponent’s weakness. This will help us to have a vibrant, mobile, and most important, UNPREDICTABLE attack.
Fantastic list let’s go there.
Many thanks to Oga GR for inviting Nigerian Yahaya Toure, Joe Aribo. This young lad is extremely talented and will bring more attacking flair to our too defensive midfield.
Now that there is nothing to loose, would Rghor please play attacking football for once?
Why not let Musa rest and bring in another young faca?
NFF since you have decided to keep Rhor could you please draft Amuneke to bringing the missing attacking instinct to our game?
Campaign after the election. You have seen it with yourself with your korokoro eyes Oga Rohr that Akpeyi na basket goalkeeper?
You coursed us not to win Afcon title just like that.
To be honest this list is great. Kudos to you Oga Rohr.
Now, how are you going to use this team is the main issue.
I have two examples to back up my argument with Oga Rohr failure.
No1, Mr. Rohr took his best players to Russia and he failed to make it in that tournament. Did he learn from that mistake? I don’t think so.
No2. This Oga Rohr went to Afcon to redeems his image but same thing occured with the coach.
The two tournaments tells Nigerians that this coach is not the right choice to go further with our team.
If he have Ronaldo, Messi, Dybala, Buffon, Jay jay Okocha,Kanu and Okechukwu in his team, Oga Rohr cannot deliver. Why? He doesn’t have the capacity.
Is there any way out? Yes. He needs someone to read game for him. He will continue having a strong squad without achieving nothing.
However, what is the purpose of this friendly match? To build a solid team that he hasn’t been able to built over the 3 years abi?
Mr. Amaju is a problem to our football. Coach Rohr is weak in charge of our team while coach Rohr’s fans are the decisiver and main problem of our team.
Against Ukraine, Nigerians will see that Oga Rohr is a gambler. I won’t say more than that for now.
However, he said Agali has been scouting for him but the coach and Agali couldn’t see Aribo? I was the first person to mentioned that name here but today, you guys are hailing Oga Rohr.
I scouted Aribo, Onuachu and so on for Oga Rohr but his fan failed to help Oga Rohr. I deserve a loud ovation from you people. Abi no be so ni?
Adi just scored last month and he has been doing well in the United State of America league MLS with Fatai Alashę.
Why the coach invited Maduka Okoye only? How about Osigwe?
Osigwe is more matured and has experience. Why is it that if you don’t play in Germany or you are not German players, it will be difficult to represent their Country?
I’m not satisfied with Oga Rohr. He should leave now please. God bless Nigeria!!!
Oga omo9ja or what is your name the job is you Rohr go kill self because Nigeria
Oga omo9ja or what do you call your self I think the job is for you ,rohr go he self because Nigeria
Pathetic Liar liar opurọ buruku ọgara ọlọṣa. When did you ever mention Arribo’s name on this forum? Please I need you to revisit that comment and post it here when you are the first person to mention Arribo. ọmọopurọ9ja. Is it not Fernando Adi we we’re hearing the anthem from you every time on this forum??? Enemy of progress, you’re one of those who drag us down to 67th position in the world. Now that we’re 33rd and moving up God will never grant you your wishes to drag our football backward. Don’t worry Rohr will continue to disappoint you and SuperEagles will continue to rise in your own very eyes. That’s why I love listening to king Sunny Ade. NIṢÓJÚ ỌTA MI DAMILỌLÁÁ. NIṢÓJÚ ỌMỌALE9JA ROHR will continue to progress with the SuperEagles.
Lol
Lolz. This is so funny ahahah. @Ayphillydegreat, Aisinle ologbo, iledile ekute.
Majesin ana na npowe lol. Who thought you provable?
So, your favorite musician is baba Obey Commander ba? But that doesn’t reflects on you now lol.
I thought you will say general Collinton Ayinla lol. That’s where you belong to with your abusive words and epe kabiti.
You and your group should keep saying whatever you like but one thing is that as long as Super Eagles is doing great, no wahala but if they do not step up their game sooner or later, na kasala ooo. Continue with your bla bla bla, it is well. God bless Nigeria!!!
As usual with his self glorification. You scouted Onuachu and others as if you are the only one that watches television. Adi has been given a chance before and he blew it others should have a look in too. I think by now you should be tired of your hate after NFF refused to sack Rohr. You have to deal with the heartbreak as I don’t see Rohr leaving so soon. Pls continue to do the good job you have been doing scouting and recommending players after all is voluntary service as you love your country more than anyone else. Rohr will continue to disappoint you and you will continue to cry.
Fernando Adi was never given a chance, he was only invited by Samson Siasia during the SFcon qualifier but was not called up from the bench on two ocassions of his invitation to the national team. Anyway, I dont think anyone should be arguing his non invitation given that nothing of note was mentioned about him lately in the media.
Now, can everybody on this furum see that this guy called omo9Ja is very, very sick. In fact, I’m beginning to feel sorry him. We have a very sick person amongst us that needs urgent help. Very pathetic…..
…
Haahahaha lol just passing oo
Nice squad list..particularly happy to see Joe Aribooooooooo, Maduka Okoye given a chance..Kelechi, Seyi and Ebuehi back to the team..Rohr is building a formidable team..
Nice to see Ebuehi back to the team good job mr ROAH
For your information I’m not a big fan of Onuachu so I never cares for his inclusion, you know the players I want to see in super Eagles, the likes of Dennis, igbekeme, Sheyi Ojo, Ejike, and Lookman. I’m a big fan of skillful ballers.
Stop lying you were shouting Onuachu here all the time before the AFCON. Now you’re changing tune after he flopped at the AFCON. Igbekeme and Ejike Are you kidding me??? Which level are they playing?? At the age of 24 still playing division two football. If he’s that skillful why is he not playing in La liga?? Dennis is already in the U23 so there’s no need to rush him to the SuperEagles we have enough in midfield already. Sheyi Ojo and Lookman are already on the radar of the gaffer long ago. Once their paperwork is finalized and they remain on form, I’m sure Rohr knows what to do at that point. Skillful players kọ Skillful players ni. Kalu and Onyekuru, Chukwueze, Iwobi and Arribo are all skillful enough.
Ogbeni, the lying u used is disrespectful bro, Onuachu having a bad Afcon doesn’t make him a bad player though I’m not a fan, iheanacho fumbles too but he was still recalled. Bro we need to try more midfielders out that’s just my point. Igbekeme is a good box to box midfielder. I’m sure u remembered where Jamilu Collins was playing for before he gained promotion this session. Etebo and Ajayi ?
Ayodele Joe Aribo is way better than Igbekemi. Igbekemi kọ Igbekube ni. In fact I will choose Ramon Azeez who had been to a WorldCup ahead of Igbekeme who had never played a top flight football in his life. You sabi football gan ni. Where was Jamilu playing before? For your info he had previously played top flight football in Slovenia and Croatia before moving to Paderborn. And guess what he now plays in the Bundesliga. Etebo had shown like a million stars in Portuguese top flight and the La Liga before securing the deal to Stoke city that used to play in Premier League. Ajayi was an Arsenal product just like Iwobi and he currently plays for West Bromwich Albion that was perennial Premier League team. So what are talking about??? Igbekeme bawo??? Abeg day someone else maybe he’s better than what we have currently.
**Sorry i meant tight not tied
This is a good list but one thing is clear to see, we currently lack defensive midfielder . I don’t know if the aribo guy is a defensive midfielder or attacking midfielder.
I would have preferred ndidi and etobo were given a much deserved rest this guy’s have really stressed themselves and are already set for another tough season of football.
Presently our attack are doing well. It would be very difficult for any player to get a chance in attack even okereke would find it tough to get a chance if iheanacho comes back good. Out attack is the most populated, even lookman wouldn’t find it easy unless some already present ones fails to perform. You don’t expect GR to drop musa for lookman or is it Samuel Kalu or oyekwere who it looks is not getting his deserved chance. It’s sad lookman didn’t choose Nigeria when there were lot of chances for him. He is only on the radar and not needed now if he was needed his registration process would have commenced.
Players that can play DM on this list:
Ndidi
Etebo (AM and DM)
Ajayi (DM or defence)
Aribo (AM or DM)
So, we are good in the DM department.
This is a very nice list drawn up by Rohr. I am mostly happy to see Joseph Oluwaseyi Temitope Ayodele-Aribo “Joe Aribo” invited because I have loads of his skills on my YouTube and I have been following him for longtime. His called up is a welcome development to the super eagles’ midfield enforcement because we didnt have his type of player before now in the senior national team midfield…
I pray and hope that Tyrone Ebuehi to should be to shrug off his recently reported thigh injury in order that he will be able to rejoin the squad..
Rohr has always been spot on whenever he draws his list of invite but what I dislike most about his coaching pattern is his too much conservative nature and the manner at which he accords too much respect to his opponent prior to a match.
Also, his reading of the game at times is poor. I hope he can work on all these aforementioned weaknesses before the next mature tournament comes up.
All the best: The super eagles should go to the Dnipro stadium comes sep.10th and humble the Ukrainian before their home fans as I believe that we are capable of beating them at home.
NFF should fast track the paper work of Chuba Akpom, SEYI OJO and Ademola LOOKMAN if really he is interested in playing for Nigeria ahead of England.
Guys, are we really missing victor Moses?
…we also need Bobby Adekanye of Lazio… We should do all it takes to have capped at senior level before the Netherlands… That guy is just like Chukwueze in playing style! His game is so mature and plays very direct and run at defenders… We need attackers/wingers who undertand holdup play and space utilisation and fast wide drift… NFF should do all they can to convince Bobby to switch allegiance from Netherlands…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-o3DWIcqCAM
All we need now is competition in the goal keeping department. We need Sebastian Osigwe to be called up. This is engender better competition in that department. With his inclusion, Uzoho, Ezenwa will fasten their belt and try to always be at their best.
I also believe other players should have been tested with this friendly. It would have paid off, I guess.
Other players invited at the expense of who? This is what u were saying before Madagascar match and after the match one of you that called himself mathematical went to the national dailies campaigning for the coach to be sacked simply because he lost to a team below them in ranking. What a shame from him and his likes. So because we want to play friendly match now we should disband all the team and bring in new set of players again? Oga wait till u become a team.
*coach
Yesssssssssssssssss!!! My Aribo is here… love you coach.
@Ayy,Mr football see how you Dey hustle backward bro lol, it shows that you don’t know igbekeme, the guy was in Portuguese league before he moved to real Zaragoza. Can u pls compare real Zaragoza to West Brom or to any club in Israel, I’m sure you know better not to compare Portuguese league or real Zaragoza to any clubs in Slovenia. by the way I’m not complaining about the list my point is we need more midfielders. Igbekeme would be a good addition.
LEEEMAOO! See as you dey disgrace yourself for here. Which portugués league was he playing?? All his appearances in Portugal are in the portugués second division. He plays for Ribeiro, Oliveirense and Gil Vicente all in the portugués division two. Lol! Yes Zaragoza is not a better club than Westbrom by all standards. Financially Westbrom are even bigger than Zaragoza. At 24 he had never played any division one football in his entire life. Collins at 24 is now playing in the Bundesliga and had played top flight football in Croatia. Croatia played in the WorldCup final. We need players who are progressing not static players. I will even prefer Abduljeleel Ajagun to your Igbekube. The likes of Azubuike Okechukwu, Anderson Esiti, Mikel Agu are even an upgrade to your so called igbekube.
AY good comments from u but I also agree with Sunnyb that igbekeme is a very talented footballer, he reminds me of one Edgard Davids from d Netherlands. Anderson esiti is just a body builder not a soccer player, as much as I like Mikel Agu I personally think igbekeme is definitely an upgrade. Am very glad Aribo has been invited as many forumites have been clamoring for him, I only hope the 9ja fans are patient with him bcos as u know one bad game and d knives with be out to crucify him. i do hope he gets enough playing time not 5 mins like some forumites have already stated. i do think 15 -20 mins should be given to him to help him ease his way into d SE. We need a left footed DM that is agile and i think igbekeme can do d job. Another good quality of Aribo is dat he is left footed and can play both as an AM or as A DM. Having another left footed DM won’t be a bad idea in my opinion. I think u and Sunnyb want d best for d SE, we all know Ndidi needs stiff competition in dat DM position, so a large pool of DM will only make d SE better. My opinion.
Proudly9ja. I’m not saying Igbekeme is not a good player, but who is he going to displace in the present SuperEagles midfield? Etebo Iwobi Ndidi are almost untouchable at the moment. Igbekeme reminds me of Joel Obi all action box to box midfielder, but he has not progressed over the last 6 years in Europe only playing second division football. Maybe if Zaragoza can be promoted to the la liga he might get a chance. At the moment an Azubuike Okechukwu is what the SuperEagles needs to give Ndidi and Etebo the needed competition. Igbekeme can not displace any of Ndidi and Etebo.
am just thankful d negative criticism didn’t push d nff into sacking dis coach ,,, am so hapi wit him in all ways …
oga Rohr pls mak early sub dats all I ve got ax an advice
If NFF had made a mistake of sacking Rohr, we surely won’t have been talking about playing friendly especially with d Nigeria factor thing. This is just what negative critics seem not to understand about continuity.
This is one of the positives u get from continuity. Experience and lessons can never be bought in the market but can only be gotten through life encounters and continuity. It’d been a very big disaster if Mr pinik caved in to the demands of a minority wicked few who never wanted anything good for the eagles, but thank God Mr pinik understood most of them and turned a deaf ear to their senseless criticisms. This is one of the reasons why countries like Brazil, Germany, Spain et Al are super powers. Imagine Germany being beaten by south Korea at the world that eventually and painfully sealed their fate of moving to the round of 16. Their coach was left to continue with his job, they believed that they had a very bad day in the office which certainly comes once in a while in life but if it were in Nigeria the reverse would have been the case. This is a very good list by all standards, it clearly shows that Mr rohr has a very good plan and that he’s always quick to learn from his mistakes. No doubt, the eagles would be a force to reckon with as predicted mye Marehez in the world in no distant time.
One big difference with the German coach analogy is that the coach had previously won the world cup prior to the 2018 debacle so he had some credit.
Nice comment, Oakfield.
Lol
@Rez, that is all we have been asking of Rhor.
Rhor pls play 2 Attacking midfielders, so that one of them is supporting #9.
Play just Ndidi or Etebor as #4, then #8 and #10 in attack, make changes on time and everybody WILL be happy.
And you think technically you know better than the coach right?
So,if he plays a different system from what you displayed here then he’s a terrible coach right?my brother coaching is not as easy as you may think.
Hahahaha….leave them. Coaches without teams. When I remember oliseh,Gary Neville and some keypad coaches like the ones we have on csn, I just read their comments and laugh. Definitely some people on this forum have not managed even a bible study group before. Lol
Lolz……seriously, @Drey, u must be a comedian
Good list . SE will beat Ukraine three zero
Superb list, well drafted.
Osigwe will soon replace Ezenwa if he fumble.
I believed a lot has been said on our attacking midfield options. We also needs to make some addition in the defence. With the addition of Fikayo Tomori in the defence, certainly he will value to the SE squad. I hope NFF will do something quickly before he become England property.
Why is it that some people just love to talk, find fault?
Ademola lookman is good but have we once thought about it that.. assuming Onyekuru was able to get his work permit last season, lookman would have been sold for him? Even this season, he was sold for Iwobi to come in. Take anaurt danjuma as an example…many people here shouted his name before he chose Holland ahead of Naija..this season, common under 23 Okereke chased him out of club brugge to Bournemouth…Onuachu has been his club’s leading scorer for 3 seasons now and he scored the fastest goal in his full debut but fumbled for just 2 matches at the just concluded nation’s cup…the next thing is for coach to drop him abi? You people want A coach that has Onyekuru (Monaco), Kalu (Baudeux), Chuckwueze (Villarreal), Iwobi (Everton), Simon (Nantes) to just drop them start calling Ojo (rangers), Lookman and all That? Who does that?… Rohr…you too much jare..carry on
Rohr should invite Ezekiel Henty. He is a very good attacker
Sean I love your contribution it shows you understand football.. Out attack is full I just pity for those foreign attackers it would take something unusual for GR to give them a chance.. Chuba and bazee have indicated interest to play for Nigeria since the past 2 years yet no chance for them.. I wonder who lookman wants to replace for now is it musa or chukwueze or Samuel Kalu. Only injury or serious loss of form would give lookman or ojo space in the team. When Nigeria wanted them they were busy doing like snail.. The only places we have lots of space for new players in mainly in midfield no wonder aribo got his chance after just few matches with rangers. Another player I’m very sorry for is Tammy Abraham because I wonder how he is going to play ahead of Radford or Kane in England.. Nigeria is surely is only major hope playing international but by the time oshimen stamps his authority in our Team many would ask why the coach would refuse inviting him
@Proudly 9Ja, thanks bro for seeing the vision, Igbekeme is a very good box to box player, with eyes for goals, we can’t continue to rely on Ndidi and etebo all the time, the game against Algeria Ndidi was tired but the coach has no serious backup, guess what, Ndidi end up committing unnecessary foul at the last minutes rest was history. Guys I put my money on the line igbekeme wouldn’t be a pushover for nobody.Ay needs to watch igbekeme games more Im sure he would sing a different song.Igbekeme reminds me of Davids, Seydou Keita,and Dembele. We just need more good midfielders to compete with Iwobi, Ndidi and etebo especially Iwobi.
Sunnyb, I think Igbekeme is unlucky to have been playing in the lower leagues all this time as he does appear to be an exciting player.
I have seen far less imposing midfielders play for Premier leagues!
Igbekeme seeks to take games by the scruff of the neck by driving the ball up field to inflict damage to oppositions.
He adds much needed fluidity to his team’s midfielder and has a natural orientation for progressive play whilst all the while seeking to bring others in purposefully.
If he can replicate that sort of approach and technique for the national team from midfield (if invited), boy, he will be such an asset!
He should continue doing what he is doing. If it is meant to be, his national team call up will happen soon enough.
It’s become almost pointless to comment on Rohr’s squad once released because they often throw few surprises : the German will almost always stick with the the same cohort of players bar one or two fresh faces.
If I must comment, I will say the following:
Goalkeeping Department: a departure from Akpeyi will be welcome relief for many fans who have long maintained that the South African based goalkeeper is too error prone to be Nigeria’s number one.
Still, the 3 invited goalkeepers still have a lot to prove themselves.
Defence department: with only 3 natural fullbacks, Rohr appears content with Awaziem playing as a right fullback.
Whether this will work on the long run remains to be seen.
Midfield department: Speaking to allnigeriasoccer.com, newly invited Aribo said:’I am very happy, it is a dream come true to receive the national team call-up.’
The English born Scotland based midfielder might yet make the dreams of many Super Eagles fans come true.
Attack department: the first 2 centre forwards to slug it out in the race to replace Ighalo are Osimhen and Onuachu.
With the China-based goals machine now out of the way, there will now be plentiful opportunities for these two (and others) to prove that they are just not built for club football greatness.
Deo, bro,u know great minds thinks alike, igbekeme will eat some of our overhyped super Eagles players lunch for fun. How many serious box to box midfielders do we currently have in super Eagles?
Lol! 26 games in 2018/19 season 1 goal 1 assist in the Spanish second division. I Dey laugh in Spanish.
Abdul Ajagun 22 games 1 goal 3 assists in 2018/19
Azubuike Okechukwu 20 games 1 goal 1 assist in the second half of 2018/19.
In terms of industry he’s not better than Ajagun and Zubby yet those two are still not in the SuperEagles yet. Not to talk of Etebo Ndidi Arribo Iwobi I will even prefer Iheanacho in midfield ahead of Igbekeme. Onazi is even ahead of him in the pecking order even Shehu is ahead of him in the DM position. So it will take a monumental loss of form for anyone in the midfield to be benched or dropped for your overhyped second division footballer who had never played a division one football in his entire career.
James Igbekeme…..found this video of him. Looks impressive.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0MkHB0W_30
Igbekeme is surely in Rohrs’ plan, New players would be brought in at due time’ the coach needed to act fast on Aribo lest we loose him to the sweet mouthed English.
https://owngoalnigeria.com/2019/03/19/real-zaragoza-midfield-powerhouse-igbekeme-confirms-talks-with-rohr-on-super-eagles-call-up-for-afcon-2019/
Where is Alapasu, why is he not in the super Eagles, The keepers coach in that team is doing a disservice to Nigeria for ignoring Alapasu consistently – The only Nigeria keeper that have won GOLDEN gloves at any Fifa organised tournament.
Bro….that was 6…..i mean 6 whole years ago…? How much football has he played since then…? Pls what club is he playing in now and how many matches did he play this last season and in preseason….?
The way some people drop names ehn…..Lolz…I wont be surprised the day someone clamors for Greg Etafia and Ambrose Vansekin to be called up by Rohr.
Sometimes, I don’t base my facts on you tube videos, it’s an edited videos that shows only the right sides of a player. Get the you tube videos of Akpeyi too to confirm.
Rohr Invited 3 Mid-fielders with a defender cum Mid-fielder making 4 in total. Here’s their stats for last season….
The Regulars…..
*Indidi 2018/19
40 Games
2 Goals
0 Assist…..with his stays, the best we have so far in National Colours.
* Etebo 2018/19
40 Games
2 Goals
1 Assist.,
The New Additions…
* Ajayi 2018/19
49 Games
8 Goals
1 Assists
* Aribo 2018/19
40 Games
10 Goals
3 Assists. And already this season, he has 3 goals in 5 games.
And for the man of the people
Igbekeme 2018/19
26 Games
1 Goal
1 Assists…. Which means it’s either he’s an Injury prone or a bench warmer i.e according to match stats. I love the way he plays…but Rohr got it right for now in my Opinion… thanks
May God bless you Sean. Statistics do not lie…for a player who has been so hyped as the next best thing to happen after garri ijebu & ice water, you will expect figures that are mind blowing. I wish you also posted stats of the defensive side of his game for all to see and judge.
Opolo eye e nor be open eye. The fact that a player runs the length and breadth of the pitch doesn’t make him awesome….its his figures that will show his contributions to the team.
Thank you Sean. Aribo is a massive upgrade to Igbekeme any time T. The coach knows exactly what he’s doing by not even thinking about Igbekeme for now. The likes of Zubby, Ajagun, Azeez, Shehu, Onazi, Agu, are even ahead of him in terms of stats and relevance. Which means if he ever get a call up to the SuperEagles he will only come to compete for a place on the bench. Overhyped second division player.
Igbekeme was only on the sub bench twice in the league all season.
He also missed 5 games owing to injury plus if you look at his total injury for the season he is no more injury prone than others.
I guess he had less games owing to his club having less of a cup run (or less cup games) than others.
Stats can be extrapolated and interpreted any way to suit the narrative.
Last season full stats for the players
Igbekeme 35 games, 1 goal, 5 assists 2712 minutes in all competitions (including Copa del Rey)
Injury Tear in the abductor muscle out for 21 days
Aribo 39 games, 10 goals 5 assists 3413 minutes
Knee injury out for 48 days
Ndidi 40 games, 2 goals 1 assist 3478 minutes
Etebo 37 games, 2 goals, 1 assist 2821 minutes
Injury out for 22 days
Semi Ajayi 49 games, 8 goals, 1 assist 4356 minutes
Plus…if you peopynow insist on Igbekeme, Name one player among those four that will make way. After all, he can’t call 5 Mid-fielders so that u won’t call him a defensive minded coach again
Even those who have been clamouring for him know his place is to compete for a place
on the SE bench. I asked one of them some months ago, who claimed igbekeme was world class player we need to win the world cup, to name his best SE XI…and guess what, he named his Igbekeme on the bench…LMAO. If he is not head and shoulders above the 6 DM/CM we have now, wats the hue and cry about…?
Igbekeme will be invited to straight into the Super Eagles starting 11 whether you like it or not.
Your days of mutiny are coming over soon.
I have said it severally that you should bow down to pundits that are greater than you.
Because u need a good bench to win major tournaments, hope u remembered the case of fegor ogude and Onazi. And for your information nobody is crying over igbekeme, or the lists put out by Rohr, The point is we need more competition for our midfielders. Pls guys this’s just an ordinary discussion, let’s do away with insults and keep the discussion civil and mature.
It’s good to have a solid bench that can compliment the first 11 in a major tournament. However, he hasn’t even made any Nigerian team at this point in his career. Maybe if he can help Zaragoza back to the La Liga he might have a chance of getting a call up. I’m afraid at 24 / 25 he’s got a lot of players to contend with in the present SuperEagles. Even the Nwakali brothers are ahead of him if they too can be consistent at their various clubs.