TheSuperNerd:
Super Eagles in Essentuki

#June16 countdown...

Looks like Ekong and Nacho have sorted out their hairstyle choices for their World cup's Group D opener....

hmmm... I hope these guys know what is at stake. Make dem no spend all their time on fashion. Sometimes ago, it was beard painting. How time flies

The Super Eagles are the most underated team in this tournament.

TheSuperNerd:


Really? So you marked all the faces at the stadium that day?

Watch the NIG-ARG match from the second half and see for yourself.

Lol.... Make una relax naa... Haba... Should they be looking tattered because of seriousness? Lol... Cool down people... The players know what is at sake... I am confident the team will thrive to put out their best and I mean their very best on the Field... Stay tuned... #June16Countdown #TheFallOfCroatia..

AIG07:
hmmm... I hope these guys know what is at stake. Make dem no spend all their time on fashion. Sometimes ago, it was beard painting. How time flies

forgiveness:


Nigeria to disappoint, Morocco and Senegal to progress: How will the African teams fare in Russia?

With two days to go until the World Cup starts, we take a look at how the African nations will get on.

by Salim Masoud Said Jun 12, 2018

Reuters/John Sibley

With FIFA extending the African quota for the 2018 World Cup, there will be five teams from the Confederation of African Football heading to Russia when the finals begin in June.

In Brazil in 2014, both Nigeria and Algeria made it through the group stages and into the Round of 16 where they lost to France and Germany respectively.

This time around, a repeat performance would represent a good World Cup for the African nations. But how well will they fare in Russia?

We look at each African side and assess their chances ahead of the tournament’s opening this week.

Egypt

In case you didn’t know, Egypt’s fortunes hinge on the recovery of Mohamed Salah.

With an entire system built around countering with the Liverpool attacker’s pace and clinical conversion, Sergio Ramos has inadvertently destroyed coach Hector Cuper’s only plan.

Fortunately for Egypt, though, they have been placed in the kindest group when compared with the other African nations at the tournament.

Added to this – and unlike their African counterparts – they are also proudly defensive under Cuper and play a brand of risk-averse football that could pay dividends in tournament football.

The only nagging issues is the question of who will now score goals on the break for Egypt. With only one recognised striker in the squad, the subpar Marwan Mohsen, the warm-up friendlies have laid the Salah problem bare.

Prediction: Group stage exit. The Pharaohs are not brimming with confidence and it’ll be a miracle if Salah is at his optimum best by the start of the tournament.

Nigeria

The pre-World Cup friendlies have raised more questions about Nigeria than provided answers.

Gernot Rohr appears to be experimenting with a new 3-5-2 formation that he could potentially unveil for the first time in a competitive action in the opening game against Croatia.

The importance of that first game can’t be overstated. It does look like Nigeria will need those sorts of marginal gains to overcome a Croatia team with great chemistry and world class players in its midfield.

Indeed, all the teams in Group D are ranked above Nigeria in the FIFA rankings. The Super Eagles also have issues in critical positions, namely goalkeeper and striker.

The unintimidating history of Croatia and Iceland in the tournament give Nigeria hope but they will really have to overperform to progress to the second round.

Prediction: Group stage exit. They have the potential to defy expectations but they have major issues hanging over them heading into the tournament.

Morocco

The most in-form African side and, judged by his CV since the turn of the decade, the best coach of an African team at the tournament in Tyrone Lannister doppelgänger Herve Renard, Morocco could be one of the surprise packages of the tournament. Renard, the mastermind of miracles in Africa, gives Morocco hope to set themselves free.

Morocco’s style of football and high pressing can leave opponents dazed and confused and, for the last 18 months, it has made them just that. Yet the question remains: can they sustain such intensity against an ultra-technical side like Spain?

It’s one thing doing it in Africa against the hapless likes of Mali and Gabon in front of a baying home crowd, quite another doing it again two of the most astutely coached sides under the floodlights of the World Cup.

There is a danger they could worry too much about Spain and Portugal. First, they have to overcome a well-drilled Iran, probably by taking the game to them, before they look to slay the big beasts in the group.

The versatility of Morocco’s personnel means they should be able to be reactive and proactive.

Prediction: Second round. Slaying Spain is a tough task, slaying Portugal is a more realistic one given their form and the track record of their coach.

Senegal

The Teranga Lions now seem like a team. This may sound like a trite statement to make but that that’s because the core of their problems recently can be traced to getting the basics wrong.

A tactically solid coach would be able squeeze more out of this group of players in key moments that require tactical curveballs. However, they might struggle to reproduce the avuncular manner of Aliou Cisse that has galvanised the squad.

Cisse will look to the spine of this team to activate the target of reaching the second round. Napoli’s towering centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly will set the tone at the back.

An aggressive, dogged midfield that includes Idrissa Gueye and Cheikhou Kouyate will be difficult to play against. Senegal also have one of the tournament’s glittering individuals in Sadio Mane and he will be their main source of creativity, especially in a team that desperately lacks players of his ilk.

The Lions have perhaps the second most favourable draw out of the African sides after Egypt. The second round is a reachable destination but their key players, especially Mane, will have to be at their best.

Prediction: Second round. It’ll be tight as Aliou Cisse isn’t the most wily tactician but Senegal are hard to beat and Cisse has fostered a feel-good factor in this team which may work in his favour.

Tunisia

Goals have always been in short supply in this Tunisia team and the injuries to their best marksmen, Youssef Msakni and striker Taha Yassine Khenissi, give coach Nabil Maaloul an incurable headache.

The men Maaloul may now turn to are Wahbi Khazri and Naim Sliti. If these two can translate their club form into this World Cup, they can bring what Msakni would have brought: goals and assists, albeit without the pizzazz.

Tunisia have shown plenty of heart during qualifying, with laudable results away to Guinea and DR Congo in their wake but it’s hard to foresee them displaying that when playing against such dynamic sides and when they have lost their protagonist to injury.

While Morocco have the cohesiveness and coach as a platform to mastermind a shock, that isn’t quite the case for Tunisia. Even being at their best may not be enough against dynamic England and Belgium sides.

Prediction: Group stage exit. They’ve done well to be at the World Cup but it’s hard to envisage them in the second round.

http://c.newsnow.co.uk/A/941890580?-20575:8630:3

Please put Mike Ejeagha for this analyst

MetalJigsaw:
Watch the NIG-ARG match from the second half and see for yourself.

Don't worry, another time perhaps abeg... I have "moved on" from that game since you sef dey part of the people wey no like us to dey go back to that game... Every single time we make an innocent reference to that game, you and a few others go always say, "Abeg let us move on from the Argentina game bla bla bla..."
So biko... Na June 16 I dey look forward to now... Old things have passed away even though they were pleasant... #June16Countdown #TheFallOfCroatia

Got my eyes on Croatia like...

darkelf:


Are you serious

Yes bro. He's a fan of FC Krasnodar in Russia and their stadium is where the Nigeria vs Argentina friendly took place last year.

This is probably their training pitch.

Joebie:
U mean Ashanti PH?

lol....I no wan troll this night ....help me if it's within your capacity

Russia 2018 General Titbits

In the words of @SoccerNationNG,


"Senegal arrived in Russia looking like their tailors did overtime after seeing the Super Eagles outfit"

Even with our poor pre-tournament friendly games, most ESPN pundits are still picking us as the group D runners up. Read this:

http://www.espn.com/soccer/fifa-world-cup/4/blog/post/3522997/world-cup-predictions-espn-fcs-experts-picks-for-champion-golden-ball-and-more


O pari

Am I the only one who thinks Morocco will win Portugal?

I don't trust Senegal, their group may be easy, but we have seen stronger contenders crash out of weaker groups. So, I personally think they will not make it out their group

Egypt is heavily reliant on Salah, their biggest issue will be scoring without Salah

Tunisia, those ones blow hot and cold. They won't make it out last last sha

Nigeria, similar to Tunisia, dem no get direction. I am undecided where they stand, Might crash out or top the group

forgiveness:


If that be the case, I wish him goodluck but I hope he doesn't get him stocked in the Championship.

Sone Aluko also made that big mistake this season. He preferred Reading fc to a Premier League club and Fulham who is back in the EPL because of Money.

Well, wish him the best.

It wasn't a mistake the transfer to Reading put £1 million in his pocket. Financially a fabulous in terms of football not good.

Like they say for everything gained something is lost.

edi287:

10k?? He would get that at a Bundesliga club. He gets at worst 20k

From a relegated Stoke that's lookin at thier budget, even with the parachute money. Etebo is untested unproven and short it is more of a risk for Stoke.

Has Etebo married a Portuguese wife or possibly got EU citizenship via Portugal ? Wondered how he got round the work permit rules.

mazimee:
Ogu has been training in the defence in the training camp. I feel his conversion maybe Rohr's tactical approach to improve our defence of set piece. Ogu is a tall player, he will be Useful in that position as well.

Omeruo or Awaziem will be better. Ogu's slow off the blocks and that can be a problem when defending set pieces as you can easily lose your marker. It is not just about height. That is what happened against Czech republic.

TheSuperNerd:
Russia 2018 General Titbits

In the words of @SoccerNationNG,


"Senegal arrived in Russia looking like their tailors did overtime after seeing the Super Eagles outfit"

I prefer their shade(the navy blue).......but na flag we wear, and the embroidery on ours is much more unique.

forgiveness:


What happened?

What always happens when Nigerian officials get together. SELF INTEREST

TheSuperNerd:
Yes indeed...

They really are desperate to keep him according to inside sources at Villarreal... his contract expires by June 30 2019 (just next year) and with almost half of Europe watching Chukwueze's talents (according to same sources), they (Villarreal) really need to secure their prized wonder kid. Good one for Chukwueze and Nigerian Football.

Hoping to see him make his entrance into LA liga with Villareal's first team.

Not to burst the bubble of excellence with regards to his talent.

He is 19 if he was so exceptional and outstanding as you put it Villareal would have him in the first team.

But what it says he is a work in progress hopefully we will see him in La Liga sooner than later.

Morocco is my next favorite African team coming into this world cup after The Super Eagles obviously.... But aside that fact, I must say that Morocco got what it takes to cause some upset. My only problem is if they would be up to the task mentally as a team. If they can refuse to cower and be intimidated by Portugal and Spain, they might just pull off a major upset. They are pretty much a balanced side.


Senegal... The whole football world see Senegal as the likeliest team from Africa that can make things happen and that is also because of their star names who play in Top sides in Europe like Sadio Mane (Liverpool), Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli) and Keita Balde Diao (Monaco).
Others like Gueye (Everton), Kouyate (West Ham), Salif Sane (Hannover), Diouf (Stoke), Ismaila Sarr (Rennes I think) also act to provide a quality supporting cast for their star men.
But I am not too sure how they can handle Poland (lewandowski, Milik, Krychowiak, And co) and also Colombia led by James Rodriguez. Senegal will beat Japan but it may be kinda close.


Nigeria.... Just wait till June 16. But remember, this is the Super Eagles that rises strongly with her back to the wall. LET THE MEMORIES OF HOW WE NAVIGATED AFRICA'S GROUP OF DEATH IN WC QUALIFYING (and Africa's toughest WCQ group in history) FLOW THROUGH THY MIND...


Egypt.... Well.... Russia, Saudi Arabia and Uruguay. If Salah can shine, then maybe his anointing can flow to the rest of the pharoahs and make them soar, else they end up like their mummies... Wrapped, buried and booted out.. Lol


Tunisia.... Already they will miss their main man in Youssef Msakni... His injury leaves Tunisia short in attack.. But in Wahbi Kazri they have a leader... But I am afraid their determined industry will amount to nothing against England's might and Belgium's absolute stardust.

safarigirl:
Am I the only one who thinks Morocco will win Portugal?

I don't trust Senegal, their group may be easy, but we have seen stronger contenders crash out of weaker groups. So, I personally think they will not make it out their group

Egypt is heavily reliant on Salah, their biggest issue will be scoring without Salah

Tunisia, those ones blow hot and cold. They won't make it out last last sha

Nigeria, similar to Tunisia, dem no get direction. I am undecided where they stand, Might crash out or top the group

You obviously have again not been following this matter. Please try to read up first before commenting on matters as regards Non-English born/based Nigerian youngsters aiit... You have no idea when the kid even got into Villarreal youth system... Gosh! And he just recently turned 19 (on May 22). He joined them officially after his 18th birthday last year and have worked his way into reckoning in just one season (the 2017/2018 season) with Villarreal U-19, C and B sides... He has climbed up the levels and even gotten ahead of a Jack Ipalibo who was already at Villarreal before Chukwueze.

Chukwueze just came off his first sesosn at Villarreal youth and is already in the news for big things mister. Don't you follow??!! If you do, you won't be making such an ignorant remark to subtly or "codedly" pour water on the lad's beautiful rise and talents.

And why emboldening the part that said "half of europe is watching the lad"... You think that is a lie? Hahahahaha... You really need to loosen up a bit Sir... There is a whole lotta quality outside English shores trust me... Even better in several quarters. Lol

komekn:


Not to burst the bubble of excellence with regards to his talent.

He is 19 if he was so exceptional and outstanding as you put it Villareal would have him in the first team.

But what it says he is a work in progress hopefully we will see him in La Liga sooner than later.

Martz101:


i agree with you on this, Ogu playing while Omeruo on the bench dont make sense to me and for Moses he must play.

i watch neymar against Austria i keep seeing him take on players even when he should pass and he pass when i thought he will pull another move that's exactly what moses do for us. it makes the team unpridictable.

Barca with messi most time is like and an arsenal team, pass and pass without any penetration or short

I think the coach playing Ogu in defence is for tactical flexibility. It gives him the ability to switch from 352 to 433 and or 451 in play. Rohr has some aces in his sleeve. Let's just wait and see.

komekn:


Not to burst the bubble of excellence with regards to his talent.

He is 19 if he was so exceptional and outstanding as you put it Villareal would have him in the first team.

But what it says he is a work in progress hopefully we will see him in La Liga sooner than later.

Well, he is joining them for pre season training.

Next!

BascoVanVeli:



EPL sides don't take most of those matches seriously so they end up getting beat. League one teams are not as good as u are making it out to be. It is a league for young lads to go and get developed. Their players are not as technically gifted as the 3rd tier players in Spain. If it was about gra gra u could have a point but we are talking football. Teams from lower divisions beat La liga clubs also.

Is that what you think

Do you know the earthquakes that will reverberate through a EPL club if they loose to a lower league club.

Sorry Sir I can assure you big clubs take these games VERY SERIOUS.

When Manchester United lost to MK Dons that was literally the end of Van Goal. To buttress my point see link below.

https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/louis-van-gaal-sacked-the-worst-defeats-of-the-manchester-united-managers-old-trafford-career-a7043411.html

andrew444:


Villareal will struggle to beat a league 1 side in england thats true.

Tottenham will also struggle to beat 4th tier team in spain,trust me

If that's your idea of sarcasm then it fails comprehensively.

First of all we are talking about Villareal B team which is essentially thier U21 team. You propose that Villareal B will beat league one teams. A feat that even the first team will have to put in a good performance to achieve.

Forget about technical football they would struggle badly with the physicality and intensity as well as speed.

forgiveness:


Onazi did well with Lazio before work permit stopped him from going to Tottenham. He is currently in the Turkish league.

Omeruo is still around in the Turkish league though he is a Chelsea player. I hope he does well to be noticed by the new Chelsea's coach.

Abdul Ajagun had good seasons with Panthaniakos before he left for Eredivise and currently Belgium pro league. He really did well this season to deserve a call-up by the National team coach.

Kayode Olanrewaju seems to be moving up the ladder. The 2016/2017 Austrian league player of the year and Austrian League highest goalscorer was once on the book of Manchester City before he was bought currently by Shakhtar Donetsk this season.

Ramon Azeez was blocked by his la Liga club from joining Swansea-city-afc in 2015. They even lodged 2.4 million pounds bid for him but Almeria rejected it. He requested a transfer to force his way out but to no avail and due to this reason he was demoted to the reserve until he reluctantly signed a professional deal.

Last season he refused to join Malaga and one club in Turkey to sign for a second division la Liga team who inserted clause of €3 million in his contract for any club in La Liga interested in his services. His team almost qualified for promotion but missed out with 4 or 5 points.

In June 2015 he requested a transfer, and after failing to sign a professional contract, he was demoted back to the reserves in August.
On 26 January 2016, Azeez returned to the main squad, seriously threatened with relegation, after agreeing to a professional deal.

These are the players remaining from that 2009 U17 team.

If we look at each teams, only two or three players are doing well. Though Brazil has 4 of these players going to Russia. Neymar, Couthinho, Allisson and Casemiro.

However, many players have been forgotten from that set.

Modifypost

Lugo missed the promotion with 10 points.

Biggest thing in football is OPPORTUNITY not necessarily ability.

Then you have the politics of football which is simply CORRUPTION.

People have very short memories in football not surprising it's a short term career. Onazi should have striked when the Iron was Hot. He didn't now he is in Turkey.

When Omeruo came back to Chelsea he was left to train with the U18. Do you really think Chelsea even remember his name.

Kayode is in BEST place for upward progression Shaktar is a great airport for outstanding football careers to TAKE OFF.

Azeez needs a better Agent in my opinion.

safarigirl:
Am I the only one who thinks Morocco will win Portugal?

I don't trust Senegal, their group may be easy, but we have seen stronger contenders crash out of weaker groups. So, I personally think they will not make it out their group

Egypt is heavily reliant on Salah, their biggest issue will be scoring without Salah

Tunisia, those ones blow hot and cold. They won't make it out last last sha

Nigeria, similar to Tunisia, dem no get direction. I am undecided where they stand, Might crash out or top the group

I don't know why I don't trust north African sides no matter how good against an European opposition

tbaba1234:


Omeruo or Awaziem will be better. Ogu's slow off the blocks and that can be a problem when defending set pieces as you can easily lose your marker. It is not just about height. That is what happened against Czech republic.

You have read my mind where Ogu is concerned in the same vein imagine Ogu LCB and Echiejile as LWB.

What would be the result

Super Eagles in Essentuki, Russia

From @NGSuperEagles,

Media Alert:

Our first 2018 FIFA World Cup, Russia press conference holds at the Essentuki Training Site Media Room from 10am tomorrow.
Our 2 training sessions are closed. Media coverage at first session lasts 15 minutes only.
#SoarSuperEagles #Team9jaStrong.

Super Eagles in Essentuki, Russia

More pics of the team's first workout/training and autograph sessions earlier today.

The predictions are mostly bleak for our team.

Super Eagles in Essentuki, Russia

Our hashtags and statement on show in Russia...

#WebeNaija (We be Naija!)

#SoarSuperEagles

jhorjhor:
I've not been seeing Iwobi in any of the pictures...anybody care to explain?

You were saying?