Super Eagles Rise Four Places In Latest FIFA Ranking

Hmmm….Good questions Obiweluzor. Your questions evoke real critical thinking and they are well thought out. I wish I had the right answers for them all, but it may be quite impossible, maybe because the questions aren’t directed to the best persons to provide the best answers.

That said, IMHO, Kelechi’s BEST position is a supporting role behind a main, mobile and deceptively dangerous strike partner. He has flourished in that role time and again from his youth football days for us to categorically conclude on that.

Ndidi is long overdue to Leave LCFC…..although if he has to, it has to be an upward move. Being one of the best anchormen in Europe consistently for 3-4 years shows he’s no fluke and sure deserves to be in a stable, title challenging and UCL favorites team…..Dortmund, Juve, Inter, Madrid are names that do not sound too big for a name like Wilfred Ndidi to play in. LCFC have punched above their weight is the past few seasons but in all frankness are still much more of a Europa place team in England rather than a title contender. Ndidi in nearing his peak and the time to win trophies shouldnt come any later.

“Sadiq Umar and other prospective players” as you called them weren’t in the team vs Lesotho, so they couldn’t have played. Apart from the 3 homebased players, almost every other player in the team has been in the team for 3 or more years running now and have all featured for the SE at one point or the other, so….?? the man in charge in his words wanted to use the match to halt the run of continuous chopping and changing in the team in the last 4-5 matches and maintain some form of stability ahead of the WC Qualifiers in June since there will be no opportunity to do that till then. This decision makes a lot of sense, even though fans prefer otherwise, but the man in charge, who would lose is job when things go wrong, took such a decision and I think its best we respect it.

Nominally, Nigeria always names “4 midfielders” in a squad of 23, but when you look critically at it, a certain Iwobi is usually listed as an attacker, a certian Shehu Abdullahi often listed as a defender while a Semi Ajayi who naturally is a defender can also double as a defensive midfielder. Technically that makes a 7 potential midfielders which really isnt bad. And when you look critcally at it, if each position in a 4-2-3-1 formation (which is Rohr’s usual formations) were to have 2 persons each, that makes 22 positions….and with the 3rd goal keeper, that makes 23……so really, is the gaffer committing a crime…??

On the creative midfield “problem”, lets be sincere with ourselves, creativity is a problem for African football as a whole, I really dont know why, but we rarely produce TRULY creative midfielders in large numbers in these parts. Players like Jay Jay Okocha, Kanu, Steven Appiah, Pascal Feindounou, Seydou Keita, Mohd Aboutrika, Tresor Mputu and so on, who are naturally gifted and consistent with creative intelligence from the central core only come once in a generation. Unfortunately, we cannot manufacture them, neither is it so easy converting players into such roles. You just have to have it….vision, decision making, ability to find the right pass, comfortbale with the ball to fit, tactical intelligence, ability to work with tight and little spaces etc. In Africa, We find our creativities mostly from the wings. The few creative ones we get per time, we use, and that is why it is pertinent that we try our best possible to get the likes of Olise and Ejaria who seem to have it all. Eze at 23 years of age has chosen to go sit on the bench of an England U21 team that couldnt win a single game at the European U21 championships. we cant beg anyone to help his own destiny. And if we eventually get them, it doesnt in any way jeopardize the position of Iwobi, Aribo or Etebo in the team. Infact those new guys will have to work their butts off to displace the 3 above. Interntional football isnt bean o. If you are going to displace those 3 elders above, then you are really gonna have to be special, especially iwobi and etebo….shuuuu…..those ones are small beetles with big engine o.

Can Nigeria win 2022 AFCON….Oh yes we can. I as a person, Im very very optimistic about that….but the bad news is that other countries too can. There’s Senegal, there’s Tunisia, there’s the defending champions Algeria, there’s Morocco, there the host Cameroon who are no push overs, and there also the likes of Ghana and CIV you are always ready to pull their weight too. There will be 15 others who will be there to compete too. No one knows tomorrow, So lets keep fingers crossed. If we all knew which countries will win which tournaments 2-3 years ahead of time then what’s the point organizing the competition in the 1st place. It would be better to just hand the trophy over and let the world move on and have peace. We came narrowly close last time, we have a better team now, in terms of experience, togetherness, chemistry, net talent pool and all that….so why cant we go a step further. The coach has said it, the players keep saying it, the FA has made it a mandate, so AFCON 2022 has become imperative. Yes We Can. May the gods of football smile on us….let no fake COVID tests, bias VAR decisions or self destruct buttons from internal saboteurs hamper that dream. But do we have the potentials…?? Absolutely.

Dont say I told you, but this current SE is highly feared and respected on this continent.